KENNEWICK, Wash.–A hockey tournament this weekend is raising money for the International Fox P1 Foundation.
The tournament, which runs through Sunda, was inspired by 17-month-old Maggie Targon, who was diagnosed with Fox P1 in February. Maggie’s father Eric Targon is hosting with his wife, Paige, to help bring money for research on the rare disease.
Fox P1 is a genetic mutation with only 200 worldwide cases that affects different parts of the body. Each case is different and Eric said for Maggie, there is a developmental delay and possible autism diagnosis in her future.
“The first year was trying to figure out what was going on. And then we figured it out and how (to) support,” he said. :”This was my way of supporting, it was to raise money.”
Eric said the money raised will go to medical research and studies for the disease.
Paige said the Targon family has been able to connect with other families going through a similar diagnosis, which has helped and is why this tournament is important; without research or those connections, there is no help or education about Fox P1,
“It might not even necessarily help our family, but hopefully in the future, when somebody gets the news and diagnosis that we did, maybe there’ll be more information,” Paige said.
A sign-up fee for players registering helped raise some of the funds, but multiple sponsors showed their support for Maggie as well, including family friends Lori and Dale Jones, who own The Honey-Do Crew–a handyman and house cleaning company.
Lori said she has known Paige long before she met Eric, so the Jones’s have been able to watch Maggie and her brother, Marshall, grow up, which is why the tournament is so special to the two of them.
Dale said sponsoring the tournament allows them to give back to the community where they can, alongside supporting a friend.
“We went through a struggle with our children once upon a time, too, and we didn’t have the support system then,” Dale said. “We want to make sure that our friends do with their situation.”
