Jardine: Despite his illness, boy thinks of others first

From the e-mails and voice mails:

GIVING AND RECEIVING -- Three years ago, 6-year-old Dylan Givargiznia of Turlock was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. As he lay playing a Game Boy in his hospital bed, representatives of the Make-A-Wish Foundation asked what he'd like. He asked for another Game Boy and more video games.

"Two weeks later, they brought it," said his father, Arnet Givargiznia of Turlock. "He got his IV pole and gave (the video game unit) to the 4-year-old boy in the room next door. That's the kind of person he is."

Dylan responded to those initial treatments and returned to Crowell Elementary School in Turlock. Now 9, he attended fourth grade until just a few weeks ago, when the disease returned full force. Dylan is now receiving chemotherapy at the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center. He understands the gravity of his situation, dad said.

"We were in the hospital and he asked, 'What's going on,' " Givargiznia said. "I explained it to him, and he said, 'It's OK. I'd rather it be me than any other kid.' That's the day I quit crying -- not really -- but it just tells you so much about him. He doesn't tell me when he's hurting. He doesn't want to hurt my feelings."

Doctors at UCSF have received permission from the federal government to import

a nonapproved experimental treatment from Canada. If the chemo doesn't work, Dylan will try the experimental drugs, his dad said.

"They said he'd have only a 5 percent chance, but it's still better than nothing," Givargiznia said. "It will take a month to see if the chemo's working."

In the meantime, the expense of going back and forth between Turlock and San Francisco is piling up for Givargiznia, who works for a local pest control company. So friends have established an account in the name of Dylan Givargiznia at F&M Bank; contributions will be accepted at any branch.

HORSE SENSE -- Over the past couple of months, any news involving horses pretty much has been dismal. Some owners, ranging from flat broke to just plain cruel, starved their animals and-or turned them loose for someone else to deal with.

Consequently, you've probably read about emaciated horses, some in such horrible shape they had to be destroyed. And you've read about rescue organizations that rely on donations to save and heal these four-legged friends.

At their annual rendezvous in Turlock this weekend, though, the Backcountry Horsemen of California will show you how a horse can rescue you, instead.

They'll offer basic training tips for saddle horses and pack stock. They'll teach you how to turn a Dutch oven into a camp kettle. They'll show you how to pack odd-sized gear on a horse and get it into the mountains intact.

Marines from the Mountain Warfare Training Center near Bridgeport will demonstrate pack techniques for cold-weather areas, skills they developed while training to use the animals in Afghanistan.

And the horsemen's organization will share its vision of how horses, riders and hikers should all be able to get along on high-country trails.

The rendezvous begins Friday afternoon and runs through Sunday at the Stanislaus County Fairground, with a variety of classes and demonstrations geared toward helping horse enthusiasts be more skilled, knowledgable and responsible on the trail. The cost is $8 per person.

"The Backcountry Horsemen's premise is gentle use," club spokeswoman Carol Jo Hargreaves said. "Sort of like 'leave no trace,' but less prescriptive. The principles we teach at each rendezvous ... we train the trainers and the wilderness riders."

The rendezvous coincides with the federal Bureau of Land Management's wild horse and burro adoption event, also at the fairground this weekend. Combined, they give anyone considering adopting a horse or burro -- wild or rescued -- an opportunity to talk with experienced horse owners about what it takes to own and care for horses.

Visit the Backcountry Horsemen's Web page at www.bchcalifornia.org for each day's schedule of classes and clinics.

A NEW CHAMPEEN? -- Last April, I wrote about Frank Pelatowski of Merced, who claimed to be the world's oldest newspaper columnist at 100 when he began writing a column for the Mariposa Gazette. The gig didn't last long, and neither did his claim. Turns out the title belongs to 102-year-old Margaret Caldwell of the Desert Valley Times in Mesquite, Nev. Caldwell was a pinup girl in the 1940s who claims to have hung out with Hollywood stars such as Liz Taylor and Wallace Beery.

Jeff Jardine's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays in Local News. He can be reached at 578-2383 or jjardine@modbee.com.