For 21-year-old Kendall Bays, the feel was the thing.

Mere minutes before, her highlighted blonde hair had been down to her hip. Now it lay rubber-banded on a counter at Act 1 Styling Salon.

"I caught it in the car door all the time. When I drove, it would be out the sun roof and people would be lookin'. It was down to my hips. I could buckle it in the seat belt," she said with a grin.

Now, it's to the top of her shoulders and swingy.

She can't stop touching it.

"Holy crap, I have no hair," she giggles.

"Bangs or no bangs?" Phyllis Lenz asks.

"No bangs. I'm used to no bangs," she replies.

Phyllis gave Kendall her first haircut, "when I stopped doing it in the kitchen so it would be straight," says mom, Kim Bays.

Prior to Wednesday's event, Kendall's last haircut was nine years ago.

"Mom made me get it cut because I wouldn't brush it. I had a big old rat's nest," she said.

Kendall mentions that younger sister, Kaitlyn, 19, offered to give her the big cut.

"I told her, 'Phyllis is doin' it, you're not, because I want it to be straight," Kendall said. Kaitlyn is in beauty school, but for this event, Kendall preferred the experience Phyllis provides.

Much has changed for Kendall, in addition to the length of her hair. But the most important things have not.

"I had to be resuscitated three times in the ER," she says matter-of-factly.

"She had to start all over," mom adds.

"She could not walk, could not talk," said dad, Brian Bays.

On April 3, 2008, Kendall suffered a brain injury, stroke and Cortical Visual Impairment as the result of a blood clot. She spent 33 days at Wyoming Medical Center and two months at Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Colorado.

The Bays' discovered that both daughters have a factor 5 genetic chromosome clotting disorder. They will be on blood thinners the rest of their lives.

"They smoke or use birth control - instant death," their mom says.

Prior to last April 3, Kendall was studying sports broadcasting at Casper College and worked at the Casper Ice Arena, where, among other duties, she drove the Zamboni.

She is a hockey fanatic and the Avalanche are her favorite team ("do you need to ask?")

Now, she works at the Ice Arena, checking out skates and helping at the concession stand. She still undergoes vision and physical therapy.

She has all of her peripheral vision but there is a big blurry spot in the middle. She can read with an extremely large font, but admits it is "taxing."

Mom works full-time at Brown, Drew & Massey, where she has been 15 years. Dad works at National Oilwell Varco Mobile Rig Division.

All employee groups - the law firm, the energy company and the Ice Arena - were completely supportive to the family, holding fundraisers and holding jobs until the three could return.

"Tell moms when they might be completely stressed out and panicked, the best thing they can do is change the personal message on their cell phone every day. That way, everybody gets kept in the loop and nobody feels left out," Kim says.

The hair Kendall chose to cut goes to Locks for Love, where wigs and hairpieces are made for those who lose their hair because of cancer treatments or other medical conditions.

"Life is such a joy. I met so many people who have had injuries or illness. It makes me feel good my hair didn't just go in the trash," Kendall said.

Community News editor Sally Ann Shurmur can be reached at (307) 266-0520 or sallyann.shurmur@trib.com. Read Sal's blog at tribtown.trib.com/Sal/blog