LEWISTON — Hope for Rylee benefit dance will be held from 7 p.m. to midnight Saturday, June 8, at the Carriage House, 1119 Lisbon St.

On the outside, Rylee Brochu is a 3-year-old boy with big blue eyes and a smile that captures your heart. But on the inside is a deadly disease that is progressively powering down his body one cell at a time.

Leigh’s Disease is a progressive disease with a life expectancy of six to seven years. With no cure, the only treatment is a cocktail of diet, vitamins and supplements. In Rylee’s situation, genetic mutations in mitochondrial DNA interfere with energy sources that run cells in an area of the brain that play a role in motor movements, leaving Rylee with daily struggles with fine motor movements, walking and talking.

Symptoms of Leigh’s Disease usually progress rapidly. The earliest signs are poor sucking/swallowing abilities, loss of head control and motor skills, lack of muscle tone and episodes of lactic acidosis.

The dance will help collect money for the medical expenses that come from everything Rylee and his family are going through. Rylee is the son of Stephanie Brochu and Chris Brochu.

To learn more about the disease, visit mitoaction.org and follow Rylee’s journey on his Facebook page at Hope for Rylee.