Meet Clay

Joseph “Clay” Dixon was the 2016 dream hunter. Clay was 14 a High School freshman, during the time of the hunt and is from Gaston, South Carolina. He has been diagnosed with a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Gliom (DIPG)/ Brain Stem Tumor (stage II).

Clay loved the north Oregon coast landscape as much as the pursuit of his dream Roosevelt bull elk. He made sure to pick black berries to eat on the way, hiking to the overlooking boulder from where he shot his dream bull elk.

Along with being an honors student, Clay is involved in the Beta Club and serves as the Chaplin in their local FFA Chapter. He is extremely outgoing and currently holds a 4.9 GPA! Clay lives with parents, Johnny and Cathy, and best friend and brother, Jacob. Clay has been diagnosed with a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG)/ Brain Stem Tumor. It is inoperable and considered "terminal." At six years old doctors had given him 15 months to live. After 18 months of chemotherapy (and 8 years later), Clay's tumor is still "stage II cancer" but is very slow growing and considered stable. In the medical world Clay is "one in a million." In the spiritual world, he is considered a "walking testimony." Due to the cancer, Clay is very small for his age and is unable to participate in growth hormone therapy. He is also unable to participate in sports because of his brain tumor, but has found that he loves the outdoors, golf and playing the banjo, trumpet & ukulele. Clay's family accompanied him to the North Coast on Friday, September 9th, 2016. He spent five nights and six days camping, hunting bear, Roosevelt elk, salmon fishing on the Columbia River and visiting scenic views and local landmarks. The traditional elk camp accommodations were staffed by Northwest Dream Hunts and Greenwood Resources volunteers along with numerous donations from local individuals and businesses. Without their generous support, our mission could not be fulfilled.

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