FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – Dreams are coming true for a Fargo girl after her family received a big gift, allowing her to attend an elite hockey camp following years of family struggles.
Kaliyah Mattila is a West Fargo Youth Hockey stand-out, and has been accepted to an elite, high-performance hockey camp twice. This year’s camp is in Henderson, Nevada, and showcases top players across the country.
“It was really surprising at the start when I first found out. I made it last year but we weren’t able to go,” the teen said.
She was unable to go last year on account of her father’s declining health. He’s been sick for the last seven years, battling COVID and major heart failure.
Her dad, Derek, said, “I was a bigger guy. I just kind of brushed it off as being somebody bigger, but it just kept getting worse… I ended up losing my job because I couldn’t maintain it with my health issues, and I ended up in heart failure.”
Derek went to the emergency room where he was told his heart was functioning at just 8-10%. He underwent several scans and tests with his family by his side.
“Seeing how Kaliyah persevered through everything kind of made me realize I need to step up and get myself back together,” the father added.
A family fighting together, they’re now left with mountains of medical bills.
Local business, Window World of Fargo, heard their story and stepped in. They’ve since donated funds to the Mattila family, allowing Kaliyah to attend the prestigious hockey camp.
Corey Janes, with Window World, said, “It was a no-brainer. Immediately, my entire team thought, what can we do to help? What more can we do?”
They’re encouraging other local businesses to help those in need, if possible. Janes said, “Window World doesn’t really want the spotlight for this at all. What we really want to do is try to help encourage other local businesses to get out in the community and be able to help if they can.”
Helping fund dreams that are never too big.
Kaliyah and her family head out to Nevada on Monday, and hopes the camp serves as an opportunity for college recruitment, and even more.
“I also want to go pro, hopefully,” she said.
Her father is slowly recovering, but the possibility of a pacemaker remains. The Mattila family has a GoFundMe out, detailing their journey, in hopes to help cover the costs of current medical bills.
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