OXBOW — Kal Harper noticed a swelling and tightening on his left leg below his shin in June 2024, so he went to the doctor, but he did not imagine what he would be dealing with months later.
Kal was born and raised in Estevan, and his wife Crystal Harper was born and raised on Vancouver Island.
Crystal moved to Saskatchewan around 2001 for an education in agriculture, while Kal continued his schooling in business.
The couple met in 2006, got married in 2008 and now have two daughters, Peyton and Candence.
Kal worked in the oil industry for nearly 30 years and was an entrepreneur over the years. He worked from 2016-2021 as the assistant greenskeeper at the Carlyle Golf Course.
Crystal has an education in equine science and is a farrier.
They bought a farm near Manor which was turned into an equine facility with lessons, breeding and sales.
It was at this farm that they raised their daughters and lived there for over 15 years before downsizing and moving to Oxbow.
Kal took a job in 2022 at Moose Creek Golf Course as the head greenskeeper, and throughout the winter, worked for Hornet Steaming out of Oxbow.
Crystal continued to give horseback riding lessons, but also started a hive of bees where she collected the honey, which was used not only for eating but also for making soaps. The process to sell these items is very detailed and must be approved by the government.
Kal and Crystal have always been an active couple and love life on the farm, but their lives were going to change.
When swelling did not go down in Kal’s leg last year, the doctor prescribed antibiotics to rule out any infection and sent Kal for an x-ray.
Over the next few months, the lump grew, so Kal went back to the doctors for more testing. He was sent to Estevan to see a specialist who came from Regina; it was then that Kal was put on the urgent list for an MRI.
Months went by before the couple decided to go to a private MRI clinic to speed up the process.
They finally had a diagnosis that Kal had cancer. The mass was now quite large and constricting the blood vessels in his leg.
On Feb. 14, Kal was told he had stage 4 soft tissue sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer.
“Our whole world flipped upside down,” said Crystal. “Kal was a fit and healthy 45-year-old.”
Crystal drove the same day to Estevan and loaded up on supplements and groceries, as she felt her mission was to learn as much as possible, as fast as possible, to slow the progression.
“I believe you have to hit things hard holistically and conventional, through diet and supplements,” said Crystal.
Kal’s leg is sore, and it is painful for him to run or have too much movement.
On May 12, they will go to Saskatoon and Kal will have his leg amputated below the knee. He will remain in the Saskatoon hospital for a week, return home for a month to heal, and then rehab will begin in Regina.
Kal will go to the cancer clinic at some point after surgery to have chemo treatments during this time as well.
They are not sure how long the rehabilitation will take but were advised that they will be in Regina for some time.
When Kal had a second MRI and PET Scan, lesions were seen in the liver and lungs. Sarcomas are quite aggressive and spread quickly. More scans and biopsies will determine progression, but in the meantime, they are focusing on the surgery.
A fundraiser called “Kickin it Up for Kal” is set up for May 31 in Glen Ewen through the Prairie Sport Horse Association (PSHA).
D.J. Carins is on the board of directors and has been friends with Crystal for over 20 years. They both have a passion for horses.
When Cairns brought the idea to the board meeting, it was a unanimous decision to move quickly to help the family.
Roxanne Appell from Hungry Horse Ranch near Wawota also knows the Harper family through riding lessons for her granddaughter and golfing with Kal.
The evening will host a supper of brisket by Charlie’s Chuckwagan, a 50/50 draw, and live and silent auctions which will include a dessert auction. The bar will be open, and the band Garden Party will entertain.
“There are a lot of people on the ground throughout the southeast that are helping,” said D.J. “We hope to pack the house to help this."
