Photo Provided Nine-year-old Kyrie Vincent, who has a rare disease called adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), can benefit from people attending the family’s dinner fundraiser to raise money for medical bills on March 22.

BELMONT — A benefit dinner with meatball subs and an auction could help a family raise funds for their little boy with a rare disease that has no cure at this time.

The family of Kyrie Vincent, a 9-year-old boy with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), is having a benefit dinner from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 22 at Route 40 Lumberjaxe in Belmont, 41761 National Road, to raise funds for medical bills. The dinner will include a meatball or sausage sub, macaroni salad and dessert. An auction at the dinner will feature baskets full of goodies, gift cards and Ohio State gear. Along with the auction, there will be a 50/50 raffle and more with a variety of prizes.

Adding to the benefit dinner is a GoFundMe account named “Hope for Kyrie: ALD Treatment and Family Support Fund.”

Those who can’t make it to the benefit dinner can send cards or anything they’d like to 5 Jefferson Ave., Moundsville, WV 26041. To donate a basket for the auction, call Kyrie’s grandmother Diana Tirpack at 740-921-8893.

“Our family is leaning on our community during this incredibly difficult time. We are humbly asking for any support you can offer — whether it be through a donation or sharing this campaign with others who may be willing to help,” she said. “Every bit will make a difference in easing the financial burden and allowing Kyrie’s parents to focus fully on his care and treatment.”

Funds are being raised to cover the costs of medical bills, travel to out-of-state facilities, gas, food and everyday living expenses as the financial burden is becoming overwhelming quickly, Tirpak noted.

Kyrie was diagnosed with ALD in September. The genetic condition damages the membrane (myelin sheath) that covers nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Tirpak said the disease is rapidly progressing and without aggressive intervention, it will cause severe neurological decline. She added that the family is doing everything in its power to seek treatments that may slow the disease’s progression, including traveling out of state for a potential bone marrow transplant.

Kyrie received a cord blood transplant Jan. 6 from a donor who was a 100% match that doctors found for him. A cord blood transplant is when cord blood is collected from the umbilical cord and placenta of healthy newborns and is donated by the baby’s parents at birth, according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Cord blood is rich in blood-forming stem cells, making it a good alternative source of blood-forming stem cells for people who do not have a readily available matched adult donor, the site added.

Although there is no cure for the illness, the cord blood transplant will either stop the progression or slow it down for now, Tirpak said.

Kyrie lives with his family in Moundsville, but his dad, Andrew Vincent, attended Martins Ferry City Schools, while his mom, Ashten Laquaglia, attended Shadyside Local Schools.

Kyrie is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, now at the Ronald McDonald House. The plan is for him to come back home on April 16. People have been sending letters, cards, pictures and paintings to Kyrie during his stay in Minneapolis. He can be reached at 621 Oak St. SE Apt. 324 Minneapolis, MN 55414.

People can also donate other items to the family, such as Pull-Ups, which Kyrie has to wear for now.

Kyrie has not been talking much since he developed sores in his mouth from his chemotherapy treatment, but his grandmother said he’s starting to say a few words again. He is still walking and eating on his own; however, his left leg isn’t 100% OK, and doctors told him he will probably be a wheelchair user after the bone marrow transplant. As of now, he can walk on his own.

Andrew and Laquaglia have been away from home for Kyrie’s treatments since November, but Andrew arrived home recently to prepare the house for Kyrie when he comes back.

Tirpak and Andrew thank the Ohio Valley community for its support and appreciate everything the community is doing for the family, including all the donations, cards and prayers.

“That’s one thing special about the valley,” Andrew said. “Everybody comes together.”