ALAMEDA - Rhandi Schiestel is a young woman who lives in the Alameda area. She resides on a farm with her spouse Reece Kent and their eight-month-old son.
She became a hairdresser in October 2020 when she completed her hairdressing program in Weyburn at Southeast College.
Schiestel got to know Kay and Ray Trafford when they came to the hair salon where she was employed.
In April 2021, Schiestel purchased the business and renamed it Emerald Salon and Spa, located in Alameda.
The Traffords remained loyal clients and it was through Ray that Schiestel became aware of Kay’s battle with cancer.
Kay has stage four, secondary breast cancer. According to Schiestel, Ray speaks about how brave his wife is through this battle, and how beautiful she is.
In March, Schiestel had a baby boy, and Kay made her a baby blanket and Ray later brought her some roses,. It touched Schiestel’s heart.
She felt compelled to do something for the couple as they went through the struggle of their lives.
Kay has to make several trips to Estevan with her IV chemotherapy treatments, but also has trips to the cancer clinic in Regina. Her daughter Laurel Trafford travels from North Portal to take her mom to Regina.
There is a lot of travelling for cancer patients, and with the price of gas and other expenses, Schiestel decided to do an online auction for Kay.
Jamie Trafford, Trafford’s grandson, has taken a leave of absence from his job so he could move in with his grandparents to help lighten the load.
Jamie said that Kay has good days and bad but is doing her best to stay positive. Once her treatments are complete, Trafford will have to return to Regina at the end of the month for a CT scan to see how treatment is working.
With the chemotherapy treatment, Kay’s hair began to thin, so she, along with her grandsons Jamie and Kyle, went to Schiestel’s hair salon and shaved their heads in support. Schiestel said it was impowering as Kay chose to shave her head, too, instead of losing it.
Schiestel is a busy woman. She farms, runs her salon, has a young son, and is involved with cadets, but she made sure to have time to help her clients.
She is holding a two-day auction on Facebook starting Nov. 18 called, The Battle of Kay. Schiestel said she has had an outpouring of donations and it is truly overwhelming how many people have shown kindness.
“They have supported me and now it is time to give back. They are the sweetest people and so kind-hearted,” she said.
Schiestel just wants to lessen their burden through these challenging times.
