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Dozens attend fundraiser for sick Maryland child
YOUNGSTOWN
They’ve never met Finnian Marsh, a 2-year-old with a rare genetic disease, but dozens of people attended a fundraiser at a South Side church to help raise money for the sick boy’s medical expenses.
Susan and Richard Lintz, Finnian’s aunt and uncle, are parishioners at Gibson Heights Second Church on East Dewey Avenue.
When Susan prayed for Finnian’s health to get better, Sharon Moison, a friend and fellow Gibson Heights parishioner, came up with the idea for a fundraiser for the boy, who lives in Baltimore.
On Saturday, parishioners turned the church into a carnival with a barbecue, a dunking booth, a cornhole tournament, a bake sale and plenty of food.
Finnian was born with MPS 1, also known as Hurler’s disease. It’s a rare, inherited genetic disorder caused by an enzyme deficiency that leads to cell, tissue and organ damage.
Finnian has had many medical procedures and surgeries, including several rounds of chemotherapy and a bone-marrow transplant.
His next surgeries are a hernia operation and back surgery to repair two undeveloped vertebrae.
“He’s a beautiful boy, and we want to do whatever we can to help,” Moison said.
The various medical procedures have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Richard Lintz said.
Doctors “don’t expect him to live to 10 [years of age],” he said.
The Lintzes, who moved from West Virginia to Youngstown two years ago, say they are grateful to their friends at Gibson Heights.
“We’re overwhelmed by the generosity of the church to do something special for him,” Susan said. “No one here knows him. His medical bills have gone sky high. This is what Christianity is — we’re supposed to love one another.”