The First Dialysis Story written by US!

As requested

The First Dialysis Story written, by members.

As of today Just thought you may like to see what you have, unedited.

The IHD Book, by members.

Just added since last update.

Updated March 31, 2007

It really is! I am glad to see my Mom so happy. I know that it was difficult when she and Dad divorced. At least it wasn't a messy divorce, and they left on good terms. They would even come together when it was anything concerning me. But as a teenager, I found it difficult dealing with the separation."
"That could be really difficult. But at least you said that they parted on good terms and still came together for you. It wasn't like that for Jon and me. Our parents had a very bitter divorce and we were like a piece of steak between two dogs! We were back and forth, and having to deal with the parent we were with wanting to triumph over the other. It was great when we went off to college and then we were on our own."
"I'm sorry to hear it."
"Well, it helped us to grow up quickly. I made myself a vow that if and when I got married, I would do all in my power to make sure that it worked and that it was a solid relationship."
The conversation was getting too serious for Sam.
She tried to change the subject, with "I wonder what Mom is doing now?"
"Your mom is probably having the time of her life! Honeymoons are supposed to be that way, you know" Jim smiled at Sam
Sam had a dreamy far away look on her face as she contemplated a honeymoon in the distant future. She had always wanted to get married and have children, but dialysis and illness had cut her dreams from her. Only now with the transplant working so well she had began to dream maybe....one day....with the right guy.
She looked into Jim's eyes. "Are you the right guy?"
Jim looked startled. "For what?" he asked.
Sam came back to the conversation. "Did I say that out loud? I am sorry. Daydreaming about how lucky my mom is."
Jim just grinned at her and they continued with their meal. Breakfast was great and they soon were finished with the meal.
Sam had reservations for two for a trip out to the south rim of the Grand Canyon for nine o'clock in the morning. She invited Jim to come along. They both ran for their rooms and changed clothes quickly in order to meet the tour guide on time.
The jeep picked them up on time and they headed for the first part of the tour, a 25 minute aerial tour of the majestic canyon by helicopter. Sam sat close to Jim and he held her tight. "This is so beautiful Sam, I am happy we could do this together," said Jim, speaking close to Sam so he could be heard over the noise of the helicopter. She could feel the warmth of his breath and turned to smile at him. "I am happy too," she said. They flew to 8000 feet at the north, over the roaring Colorado River and back up to the south rim which is 7000 feet. When they landed their driver Rick had lunch stashed in a box and the open-air 4 wheel drive jeep was ready to go. They saw a coyote and an elk, and learned about the early settlers, the cowboys, native wildlife and local folklore. By the time they headed back to the hotel they were tired, but had grown more comfortable with each other. Sam wondered...
if any other day had ever been more perfect. She could not remember having had a better time with anyone else.

Sam and Jim returned to the Luxor Resort in the jeep. Jim tipped the tour guide and Sam thanked him for a beautiful ride and tour. Jim had taken the bottle of champagne from the tour guide as they left the Jeep. Two souvenir glasses were wrapped in a cloth bag in the bottom of the picnic basket Sam had in her hand. They walked hand in hand into the hotel lobby. Jim stopped to kiss Sam softly on the forehead while they waited for the elevator.
Sam looked up at him and said:”I want pancakes for dinner tonight.”
Jim smiled at her. “More pancakes! Good thing I know my Grandmothers recipe for pancakes.”
Jim got off the elevator at his room floor. Sam said: “ Might as well come on up to the penthouse with your stuff. Shame to waste all that space with just me up there.”
Jim grinned sheepishly. “I will see you in a few minutes.”
Sam laughed and grinned. It was good to have a male friend again.

About an hour later Sam opened the door the door to the penthouse to find Jim standing there with the manager. The manager smiles at Sam and said: “Samantha Ward?”
“Yes, I am Samantha Ward.” Sam answered.

Sam looked at Jim and the manager, she asked what they both were doing there, but quickly put it out of her head and sort of forgot the manager even came along when Jim started to speak.

Jim could see that she needed to freshen up, so he told her to go shower and change into something elegant. She smiled and turned to go do just that. Jim called behind her, "We shall return in 20 minutes, be ready gorgeous." She nodded and closed the bedroom door behind her. Blood was rushing through her entire body, she was very excited and anxious and nervous all wrapped into one. 'What could Jim have planned?' She wondered. Grant Lange, the manager, turned to Jim and said "We were contacted by Canyon Tours. Ms. Ward left her purse on the helicopter. They just dropped it off so I could bring it up."
“Thank you. I am sure Sam would miss this.” "Yes sir, Mr. Bean," said Grant as he and Jim shook hands. Taking him aside Jim said, "Grant, I would prefer that Ms. Ward didn't know about my... well, my relationship with the hotel, for now. Thanks." Grant nodded and left the penthouse suite. Jim had just sat down when…
Sam was ready and coming out of the bedroom when there was a knock at the penthouse door. She was dressed in jeans and sweatshirt. After all the plans for dinner were for pancakes made by Jim. Jim opened the door. This time a strange man stood in the hallway.
Excuse me, Samantha Ward? " He said.
Sam stepped forward. "Yes?"
" Ms. Ward, I am Don Harding, the overall manager of the Luxor. We have a problem I need to discuss with you."
"Oh?" Sam answered him. "We just saw the day manager, He said nothing about a problem."
" He does not know about this matter." He continued. " When your mother checked out this morning it seems she checked you both out of the penthouse under Mr. DeFord's name. Unfortunately we have the penthouse booked tonight with another party coming in. I am going to have to ask you to move to another area of the resort."
Sam stood there shocked. It figures her Mother was in such a tizzy that morning she would have done something like that in her rush out the door to her honeymoon. She said: "Allright. I understand. Let me get my stuff packed and I will be out of here in an hour."
"Thank you so much, Ms. Ward. For your inconvenience we will allow you free access to shows anywhere in our resort conglomerate for the rest of your stay."
"Why thank you, Mr. Harding." Sam answered graciously.
"Come see me in my office and I will give you your passes to the shows." Mr Harding turned to go.
Jim said:" Don't worry about another room, Mr. Harding. I have it covered."
Sam gasped in surprise.

Don looked at Jim Bean, and suddenly realized who he was, "Oh, I..." but before he could finish Jim put his finger to his lips, signaling quiet, so Sam could not see. "We appreciate your thoughtfulness, and Ms. Ward will have her bags ready in no time. Please send up the bellman." Don said no more, and quickly left.
"But Jim, where will i go? The strip is packed with guests for the weekend."
"Don't worry, I have a friend who owes me a favor. Let me get a cab and we'll be on our way."
Sam was packed within minutes and they got the elevator to the lobby with the bellman in tow. Jim spoke briefly to the doorman and a cab pulled up to the curb. "To the Bellagio please."
As they drove Sam said, "Jim, I cannot believe all the ups and downs we've had trying to get to know each other. It seems like something always happens to sidetrack this relationship. There are so many things I want to know. I am curious how you ended up in Las Vegas after the accident. And who is this friend that owes you a favor? The Bellagio? How on earth can I stay there?"
"Sam, I have a friend, someone I knew in college. His name is Steve Wynn, ever hear of him? Anyway, he knew I need to make a new start and invited me here. One night about a month ago, he invited me to a high-stakes poker game. There were some heavy duty high rollers there. I got lucky, really lucky. That night changed my future, for now anyway." Sam smiled, "Great, that sounds like fun! How much did you win!?!" "Jim looked down for a moment, th "Holy cow! The Bellagio! You're kidding." Sam exclaimed."That must have been one heck of a poker game!
"Oh it was! It was!" Jim replied. "I gave back the hotel eventually and made a great busineess deal out of it, but I have penthouse privileges for life here."
Sam grinned at him. Jim was a good person to know.
en said, "I won the Bellagio." Two hours later….

Jim had come into the penthouse kitchen from the hot tub. He was going to start dinner for both of them. Not pancakes in spite of what Sam had said earlier. It would be something nutritious. He looked in the well stocked refrigerator and in the cupboard. “Hmmmm” He said out loud. The Bellagio penthouse was always kept well stocked with fresh food and canned goods. The wait staff was magnificent In the penthouse area. He could have left dinner to a chef, but when hey had arrived he had sent everyone off for the night. Tonight was for Sam and himself.
He found the makings for easy spaghetti. Frozen sauce the chef had left him and spaghetti in the cupboard.
“Okay, now. I can do this.” He said aloud. French toast was his specialty, anything else was fair game. He read the directions on the frozen package the chef had left. Microwave directions. He could do that. He put the container into the microwave and set the timer. He put the spaghetti water onto boil.
Sam strolled into the kitchen. She had climbed out the hot tub a few minutes after Jim had come into the kitchen. Her hair was damp and hung down to her shoulders. He looked at her and smiled.
“Spaghetti okay?” he asked.
“Sounds good.” She answered. “Can I make dessert?”
Sam rummaged through the cupboards and came up with a chocolate cake mix and a diet root beer.
“Umm, don’t you need more than that, like eggs and oil?" Jim asked.
“Nope, this will be the best cake you ever had.” Sam answered.
She dumped the cake mix into a mixing bowl. She had to search the kitchen for the hand mixer. She dumped the diet root beer into the cake mix and turned on the mixer.
Jim turned to put the spaghetti into the boiling water, He set the timer for seven minutes. The mixer went wild in Sam’s hands and cake mix started to fling out of the bowl. The bowl was twirling on the counter and the mixer was spinning cake mix out of it as fast it could. Sam was laughing as she tried to turn the mixer off.
“Eeek. Help.” She laughed and cried.
Jim grabbed the bowl and held it still. Sam managed to get the mixer turned off. Cake batter dripped down the microwave and was on the ceiling. Sam was laughing hysterically by now. Jim stood there and watched her laugh. When the big splotch of cake batter dropped off of the ceiling onto his head, he started to laugh, too.
They were both covered in cake batter. Jim turned to Sam and they both stopped laughing at the same time.
“Oh boy! What a mess!” Sam said.
Jim looked at her and smiled. She giggled. He pulled her close to him and kissed cake mess off of her forehead. She leaned into him. Her lips met his in the second kiss. She tasted chocolate cake on his lips. She licked some chocolate cake off of his chin.
“Mmmmm.” She said. “You taste pretty good. Chocolatey.”
Jim laughed. He kissed her again. She felt good to him. He lifted her onto the counter in the kitchen and kissed her again. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close.
The timer went off.
The timer's sharp bell made Sam jump. Jim let her go, rubbing a little piece of cake batter on her ear gently.
"We have to clean this place up, don't we?"
"Of course not!" retorted Jim. "I'll just call and let someone do it. Since our dinner making seems to have died an unnatural death, I will get send out for dinner. What do you want to eat?"
"Anything! I am hungry!" said Sam, as she started to realize that her stomach was giving a muted growl.
"Okay, I'll have a sumptuous feast up here for you in no time. Just give me a few minutes."
Sam decided to go and have a lie down while he was ordering the food. The bed was absolutely luxurious - fluffy pillows and all. 'I could get accustomed to this kind of life,' she said laughingly to herself.
Jim came and sat on the bed next to her. "That's that,"he said. "I hope you're really hungry, because I think I overdid it."
"Now," he continued, "to answer a question you asked earlier. How did I end up in Las Vegas? I don't think you understand. I know you were shunning me, but I resolved never to lose sight of you. You have no idea the impact you have had on me, and I am not just talking about your body - although......"he paused. Sam sat up and leaned forward, pulling the front of Jim's shirt to bring him closer to her.
"How long do we have before dinner?" she asked.
Jim replied: "About ten minutes. Room service is fast around here.
"Hmmmm, did you order dessert?" Sam said, smiling.
" Yes, chocolate-dipped strawberries, you don't have an allergy do you?" he queried. "No, none at all, and no food restrictions now that I have a transplant!" Sam said matter-of-factly. Just then a knowing look passed between them, remembering the circumstances of that last statement. " Let's

Just then the doorbell rang. "Darn!" said Jim, under his breath. He stood still for a while as if contemplating ignoring the sound, when it sounded again, this time more forcefully.
"Well, time for our meal!" he said, in a falsely cheerful tone, as he went to get the door.
Sam smiled, and at the same time felt a slight sense of relief, mixed with disappointment. Was she ready for seemed to have been looming on the horizon? Everything had just been happening so fast. 'I need to get off this rollercoaster and think things through,' she said to herself. Yet Sam had to admit that she felt more alive and optimistic than she had in a long time. She had laughed and felt happy lately, and had nearly forgotten how good that felt. She got up to go find Jim, just as he walked in the door. He was holding a bottle of wine and a plate of hors d' oeuvres. "Do you think a snack will do for now? I have something for you..." he said as he motioned to the bathroom door. Sam followed him and saw that he had filled the large tub with bubble bath, and surrounded the room with candles. "I you might enjoy a little food and wine, plus a chance to get that glob of cake batter out of your hair while you had a nice tub." Sam reached up and felt her hair and laughed. "I'll bet I look great!" Jim smiled "You look beautiful to me." He poured the wine and set the glass next to the tub. Sam hugged Jim and said, "This is so nice, thank you." The pleasure is all mine, my dear," he said. "Now get into your tub and I will go and see about getting the dinner ready for your pleasure."
Sam got into the tub, slid down, closed her eyes and just let the warm scented water do its magic to her body and mind. What a thoughtful person Jim was turning out to be. She almost regretted how she had rebuffed him and ignored his overtures. She lay there, replaying their recent time together. She felt so good when she was with him. There was always this sense of security and safety. She remembered that she had felt that even before any romantic attachment was in the mix. Was this someone with whom she could spend her life? This thought made her feel especially happy. She lay her head back, enjoying the beauty of the bathroom, the lovely scents of the water and the candles. What beauty, what a feeling of peace...she drifted off to sleep...