Mob rules
FHS, FMS administrators, teachers, students rally around school’s basketball player battling cancer
Mason Motley and his mother, Kristin.
Under the Twitter hashtags “#Noadmiralfightsalone,” “#Masonsmob” and “#Teammason,” support has snowballed for FHS sophomore Mason Motley, who played basketball for both FMS and the high school’s freshman team.
While physical and emotional encouragement has poured in from the community, a group effort showed just how dearly Mason and his family are thought of when a team comprised of nearly 100 FHS and FMS students, teachers and administrators participated in East Tennessee Children’s Hospital’s Butterfly Dash 5K run Saturday, Aug. 11.
“We heard of the Butterfly Dash benefiting Children’s Hospital, and since Mason would be getting some of his chemo treatments there, it sounded like the perfect event to support,” said Robyn Geron, who has known the Motleys for a number of years, as her son also played basketball. “We originally thought it would be good to get the guys from the high school basketball team together as a team for the race. However, as word spread, more people kept asking if they could be part of the Mason’s Mob team, to which the answer of course was ‘yes.’
“The actual race day we had nearly 100 people there to support Mason. Principal Ryan Siebe from FHS, principal Wes Edmonds from FMS, current FHS basketball coaches Jon Higgins and Tyler Cate, and former FMS coach Randy Swartzentruber all were there. FMS teachers Chris Cavalaris and Betsy Swartzentruber were there too.”
“It has been overwhelming,” said Mason’s mother, Kristin Motley, who spoke by phone from Mason’s hospital room Tuesday, Aug. 14. “The support we have received has been fantastic. It is hard to put into words.
“My son has played basketball for many years and has made great connections with so many kids. I think that is part of the reason why so many have come out to support him,” she added.
““The first thing he said (when he was diagnosed) was that he wanted to go tell his team. His teammates are like family to him. They boost each other up when they’re down and they always have each other’s back. I think he felt that if he told his teammates, his friends, everything would be OK.”
Mason had been undergoing chemotherapy during the time of the 5K, and his mother said he “was having a good day” and was able to attend a portion of the day’s events.
Mason was diagnosed in June with telangiectatic osteosarcoma, a subtype of osteosarcoma.
“He was actually misdiagnosed,” Kristin said, noting doctors originally thought Mason was only suffering from a bone cyst, which had presented as pain in his lower tibia, just above his ankle, during the 2016-17 school year.
Mason maintained a strong dedication to the sport he loved, and “played through the pain that last week because he wanted to finish the season,” Kristin said.
His first surgery was in April 2017, and Mason was able to recuperate and play on the freshman team for the 2017-18 season, and actually saw some JV action.
However, almost exactly a year to the date after his first surgery, X-rays showed regrowth of the cyst and it was recommended by his orthopedist that it be removed. However, what Mason’s doctor believed to be regrowth of the cyst turned out to be much worse. “Three weeks later after his surgery, we got a call from the orthopedist’s office, telling us they needed to see us right away.
“That is not a call you want to get … they wanted to see all three of us (Mason and his parents, Kristin and Tim Motley) … and your gut just tells you, it will not be good news.”
Kristin’s father has been in the medical field for more than 35 years, and immediately made sure Mason went Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where he was evaluated by the head of its pediatric oncology center. “We flew there, and they did their own testing,” unfortunately confirming what the family already had been told, she said.
Mason began treatment in Boston, where he received a port July 10 and started chemotherapy the following day. After four weeks, they returned to Knoxville, where he will continue treatment until going back to Boston for additional surgery to remove the synthetic bone filler from his previous surgeries and replace it with a bone graft.
Though Kristin does not expect Mason to return to FHS this semester, “he has done well – better than I ever imagined.
“He is just a pretty special kid.”
