If Loudon teenager Blake Goins made a list of things he would like to do, No.1 on the list, most likely, would be to walk.
But, No. 2 on the list might well be to go hunting.

For years Goins has watched his father, Ed Goins, get ready and go hunting with his older brother, Tyler.
Blake, who suffers from muscular dystrophy and has been confined to a wheelchair since he was 9, was left behind.

The living room at their home proudly sports two mounted deer head trophies.
"One of my dreams is to get a 10-point and mount it," Blake says.

Ed Goins explains, "I have been hunting since I was 16 and I am 47 now. I just love this time of year. When you are outdoors, you get to see stuff most people never see - the way the animals are when they play. My son Tyler is my hunting buddy. Blake is not able to get out in the woods. It's rough country, and when you are confined to a wheelchair...."
Now, however, Blake is telling Dad and brother to get ready to move over. He plans to bag his own first deer this season.

An organization called Hope Outdoors, a nondenominational Christian ministry, arranges outdoor sporting opportunities for people with disabilities. With help from this organization, Blake will be going hunting for the first time in December. He will be going to Morris, Ga. Dec. 10-12 for the hunt.
"I want one with big horns - I want a 10-point," Blake says, grinning at his father.
"He wants to get one bigger than mine," his dad adds.

Hope Outdoors uses assistive technologies that allow people who are paralyzed or have weak muscles to control a mounted gun with a camera, through joystick or mouth tube controller.
The hunt will be culmination of a longtime dream for the entire family. For some time, Ed Goins has been looking for a way to get his son Blake into the woods, just to be a part of it even if he could not shoot. He bought a camp ground blind, but the terrain where he hunts would not allow the wheelchair access.

"Our Christmas this year is not gifts under the tree, it is things that help our children," Ed says.
While the hunt will be provided free, the family needs sponsors to help with getting hunting clothes for Blake. He cannot wear boots, but his father wants to get the camouflage warmers that are designed to fit over boots.

The family needs sponsors, to help with gasoline to get to their destination and pay for a motel room.
A Lenoir City taxidermist, Tommy McClendon, has volunteered his services, to ensure that Blake's deer joins the others.

Blake's grandfather presented him with a hunting knife, which he prizes. Local television stations are set to air stories about Blake's hunt, in hopes of raising awareness about muscular dystrophy and finding sponsors.

And, while Blake may have to rely on help and wheels to reach his destination this year, the family has hope that one day, he will walk into the woods on his own.
Blake is enrolled as a possible candidate for gene therapy trials. He goes each quarter to Ohio Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

The experimental therapy shows promise for not only stopping the progression of muscular dystrophy, but also for reversing muscular damage.
"I know what God can do. With God, all things are possible, so we do have hope he will walk," says his mother, Patricia Goins.

For more information about Hope Outdoors, visit www.hopeoutdoors.org.

vicky.newman@news-herald.net