On Saturday, Aug. 28, owners and friends of Penalties Sports Bar, 1731 North Main St., will enjoy four cycle stops in the area.  

This is not your usual Saturday fun run, but one which is aimed at benefitting four local families whose children are recovering from MIS-C. The goal is $20,000, said Rob Lewis, Penalties owner and organizer of the poker run.  

While sitting around a table inside Penalties with members of those four local families—all who’ve experienced MIS-C this year in some form—Lewis said it is the least they can do for the four boys and their families. Registration begins on the 28th at 8 a.m. at Penalties. Breakfast will be available as well as Mimosas and Bloody Marys.  

“Kickstands go up at 9:30 a.m.,” Shondelle said. The first run/stop will be from Shelbyville to Lynchburg Public Square; second stop planned is Common John Brewing Co., at 210 Woodbury Highway in Manchester; third stop is The Iron Horse at 23 Main Street East in Wartrace; the final stop is back at Penalties. Shondelle said while motorcycle enthusiasts are making the fundraiser run, there is also room for all vehicles and ages. Call 615-603-2800 for more information.  

Shondelle notes a high point of the celebration, which is really what it is in addition to a community fundraiser, will be a special concert by Derailed (The kids from Nashville School of Rock) which will take place at 3 p.m. at Penalties. See the Penalties Face Book page for more updates.  

The Shelbyville business owners have tears in their eyes as they note how horrible this year has been for these parents. They note the fundraiser has been rightfully named “Four the Boys, Part II.” The day’s events include a silent auction and a 50/50 raffle.  

This will be the first of its kind in Bedford County, particularly because MIS-C is something new, affecting children in particular. It even has doctors baffled, the family members revealed.  

According to Centers for Disease Control (CDC), MIS-C is a multi system inflammatory syndrome in children—a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.  

The CDC openly states how it doesn’t even know what causes MIS-C. However, the center has reported that many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had been around someone with COVID19.  

MIS-C can be serious, even deadly, the CDC reports, but most children who were diagnosed with this condition have gotten better with medical care.  

Bedford County students Alex Mosier, 9; Cayden Puckett, 18; JoJo Locke, 8; and Haden Cox, 18, are all out of Vanderbilt Hospital now. But the parents note the illness likely isn’t going away completely, considering the mental toll it has taken on the boys. Cayden even made a trip to the Mayo Clinic in June.  

Still, his mother, Erin Puckett notes, “I try to live in this place of gratitude . . . moving forward.”  

But the bottom line is that Cayden was physically restricted from normal activities from January to June. This was tough for a senior in high school, especially, she said.  

JoJo’s mom, Lansanna Young, says her 8-year-old was restricted from February to April.  

“He didn’t come off full restrictions until June 4.” 

 These boys are heavily involved in sports. The restrictions have taken their mental toll on everyone.  

“It broke JoJo’s heart. I met with cardiologist; he said it was OK for him to practice. Once he got that confirmation from doctor, his attitude at football practice has been a little better. For the first couple weeks, it was horrible . . . horrible.”  

Mom Kerri Mosier said she and the other parents, who have become really close this year, don’t know what to expect as far as long-term effects from MISC.  

“My son’s autistic. So it’s really a guessing game with him . . . even when he’s plain sick, it’s just like pulling teeth.”  

Not to mention, the students have had to endure months of tests and some are part of ongoing research studies. That is more needles, tests and doctor visits than a person receives generally in a life-time.  

Then, there’s the daily shots of Anakinra—an immunosuppressive drug generally used to treat Rheumatoid arthritis.  

“The medicine is very thick . . . actually hurts, going in, said Alex’s dad, Scott Mosier. 

While having similar effects, he said it isn’t chemotherapy.  

“It doesn’t have the same lasting effects that chemo has with it. We were literally counting down, as I was giving Alex the last five shots.”  

JoJo’s family had a big celebration after the regime of Anakinra.  

“It was a real struggle, giving him the shots,” JoJo’s mom explained. She hangs her head, revealing how guilty she felt for putting her child through this ordeal. As a mom, she could feel the pain, she explained, as she put the shot into his leg.  

“He wouldn’t let us do them in the stomach at all. It was a fight with him to get the shots rotated. It would leave big old red marks on them and bruise up.”  

To boot, she’s a single, working mom.  

“It was hard on me . . . five other kids at home.”  

She said she was thankful for family and friends during the time JoJo was hospitalized. JoJo wasn’t able to go back to school for months, based on cardiologists’ recommendations.  

Worst of all, the isolation was tough, all parents agreed in unison.  

“The isolation of it is necessary on one hand . . . but on the other hand, it’s also like a response to what they’re going through,” said Erin Puckett. “I just remember thinking like, Lord, please let this be over soon. I didn’t know what it was doing long-term.” JoJo’s mom added, “We still don’t.”  

Alex missed a lot of school. Cayden and Haden are in their senior years. But for the younger children, there’s a lot of school work to be made up, repeated. When the rashes slowly invaded their children’s bodies, the parents said they knew they were headed for something big; they just didn’t know what.  

“When I was there [at hospital] they asked me, ‘Does he have a rash?’ They also asked about red eyes.” 

 The Pucketts dealt with the rash. But Benadryl, even prescription strength, didn’t phase it. Cayden’s mom said after varied medications, the rash finally disappeared. Perhaps, they note, that his previous steroid shots for other health issues, had helped Cayden.  

Oddly enough, other members of the Puckett family did not contract COVID-19. That is, they had no symptoms and tested negative for COVID-19. The antibody test, which demonstrates if someone had a past coronavirus infection, was not available at the time they were going through MIS-C.  

Speaking of the rash, she said it was something she had never seen before. She described it simply as “bizarre.” During their hospitalizations, which thankfully didn’t happen to Cayden, the children were treated with steroids for the inflammation along with other medications including Anakinra.  

After they are released from the hospital, many children still experience fatigue, continuing inflammation and skin rashes, and are seen in the well-organized follow-up clinics—those which can continue at one month, three months, six months and one year.  

Vanderbilt physicians note that good news is that all function appears to recover pretty rapidly, but heart tests (such as echocardiogram and cardiac MRI) show that while heart function looks normal, the heart tissue in many children is not completely normal. And a small percentage of children have dilation of the coronary arteries following MIS-C.  

Myocarditis is one of the causes for sudden death with exercise. Vanderbilt physicians have said they’ll be doing rigorous follow ups of MIS-C patients for the first year, but many have also stated they suspect many patients will need cardiology follow-up.