Sister Switch
Samantha Evans came to Salem in July of 1977. She is Marlena
Evans' older sister. Sam was an out of work actress who had a drug and alcohol problem.
Her addiction spiraled out of control while she was in Salem. She even went so far
as to steal Marlena's prescription pad. She also started to steal Marlena's jewelry
and checks but by the time Marlena figured everything out it was too late. September
of 1977 Sam knocked Marlena out and drugged her. She called for the Bayview Sanitarium
to come and pick her up. Marlena was then committed and Sam took over her life. While
Marlena was in the sanitarium she was heavily drugged but she did have moments of
clarity. One day she managed to escape and call Don to come to get her but before
he showed up she was found and taken back to the sanitarium. Don had asked Marlena(Sam)
about the phone call. She covered by saying that the call was a ploy. Sam was now
worried that Marlena would try to pull something again so she had her scheduled her
for shock therapy to try and keep her in line. It seemed as though Sam would get
away with her evil plan until October of 1977. Don was becoming suspicious of Marlena
when he saw her writing with her left hand.(Marlena was right-handed.) He then compared
a recent signature with one from a few months prior. In the meantime Sam was offered
a role in Hollywood and was planning to leave town but before she could leave Don
and Laura found her and they realized that she had switched places with Marlena.
Don and Laura then convinced Marlena's doctor that it wasn't Sam but Marlena in the
sanitarium. Marlena was released and Sam was arrested. Once Marlena was at home and
settled in she made a call to her parents to tell them what happened to Sam. After
Sam was out on bail she went back to Colorado with her parents until her hearing.
While on the stand at the hearing Sam cracked and she was placed in a mental facility
in Colorado. Marlena went home to Colorado in December of 1977. She went into the
room she had shared with her sister as a child and all of the memories came rushing
back to her. She realized that she missed her sister and the very next day she went
to the Hillcrest Sanitarium to visit her. The two sisters straightened everything
out and Marlena forgave Sam.
Sam's Kidney Transplant
Sam was eventually
released from the sanitarium and she went back to California to resume her acting
career. She landed a role on a popular soap opera called Together Again. It seemed
as though Sam had her life on track but once again her acting career would get derailed.
Sam's kidneys began to fail and she had to start dialysis. She had to quit the show
and moved back to Salem to undergo treatment. Sam was having a hard time adjusting
to life on dialysis. Sam felt like she was a burden to her sister and Don but she
was too afraid to try to live out on her own.
One stormy night Sam went out
for a walk after she interrupted an argement between Marlena and Don about where
they would spend Christmas. Sam ended up at a bar where she met up with Chris Kositchek.
Sam and Chris were talking when they were interrupted by a man who recognized Sam
from her television show. The man spilled his beer on Sam. He tried to wipe it up
but he ended up knocking one of the clamps off Sam's shunt and she began to bleed.
Chris quickly got the clamp back on and rushed Sam to the hosptial.
After
this incident Sam became dispondant. She felt she was a burden to Marlena and Don.
She refused to leave the hospital so that Marlena and Don could have the
Christmas they wanted. Marlena realized that she could no longer be Sam's doctor so she turned over Sam's
case over to Jordan Barr. Marlena knew that Sam needed something to look forward
to besides dialysis so Marlena suggested a kidney transplant. This gave Sam the
hope she needed. If a donor could be found then she could one day go back to her
career in Hollywood.
Marlena was counsiling a man Mr. Pierson. Mr. Pierson's
daughter Abigail had slipped into a coma due to a brain tumor. The doctors were
trying to convince Mr. Pierson to take his daughter off the life support systems
and allow her organs to be used for transplant as she wished. Marlena had to try
to convince the girl's father to go through with the donation with out letting him
know that it was her own sister who would receive her kidney. Marlena tried everything
to convince him but he would not budge so she handed the case over to Jordan Barr.
Jordan arranged for Mr. Pierson to meet Sam as one person who could benefit from
the organ donation. It worked because Mr. Pierson agreed to the organ donation.
Once
Sam what fully recovered she headed back to Hollywood. She left to do a motion picture
starring opposite Warren Beaty.
Back To The Samantha Evans Page