DENIS HAS AMERICAN CHRISTMAS.

Byline: Steve Carney Staff Writer

The scars on Denis Nefedov's face are smoothing and healing, and surgeons still have plenty of work left to do on his burned hands and head but all he cared about last week was what was under the Christmas tree.

``I know what that one is. It's a dictionary,'' the 11-year-old Russian boy said last week, showing off an impressive English vocabulary learned since he arrived in March.

Severely burned in a household accident two years ago, Denis spent his first Christmas in America after arriving in Los Angeles for a yearlong series of treatments at the Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks Hospital.

He and his mother, Janna, fear that Denis' father won't be able to join them American consular officials want proof he'll return to Russia and not try to stay.

``The fact he hasn't seen the child or his wife, that's not sufficient for him to come,'' said Diana Mitchell, the Russian-speaking Tarzana woman who now shares her rambling home with her guests.

Yet both Janna and Denis feel they have plenty to be thankful for. For Denis, there's the new TV that Santa Claus left with his doctors. And for Janna it's the improvement in Denis' condition. After all, that is the reason they left family and friends far behind for what may be a year, or more.

``I didn't realize until I looked at a picture, and the drastic difference hit me,'' she said through a translator. ``I can't believe our good luck.''

The accident occurred while Denis was home alone in the family's apartment on Sakhalin Island, near Japan. He lit a candle during a power outage. But inadvertently Denis also ignited fumes from gasoline the family was storing, and a fireball engulfed him. Russian doctors did what they could to repair his disfiguring injuries, but now Dr. Richard A. Grossman and his colleagues at the burn center are donating their expertise to advance his healing as much as science currently allows.

But Denis isn't dwelling on the frightening, painful series of operations on his face, head and hands. For the moment he's more concerned with romping on the carpet with one of Mitchell's poodles, a refugee from the pound named Coco.

``Denis can be a handful, like anybody his age,'' Mitchell said, explaining how she taught him about the need to behave for Santa Claus.

She said he told her, after receiving the television, ``Back in Russia, I very much doubted the existence of Santa. But here I see it works.''

Denis talks often on the phone with his father, Andre, who makes the boy promise to mind his mother.

``Yes, Papa, yes, Papa,'' said Janna, imitating her son's quavering, obedient tone.

``He promises everything, and then he forgets,'' Mitchell said. ``He's a kid.''

And how will he act when he returns, one day, to Russia?

``I have my doubts he'll settle down,'' Mitchell said. ``He's becoming a little American.''

Denis exuberantly shows off his bicycle, an anonymous gift, and skids to a stop on Mitchell's packed patio. He eagerly shows off his room surprisingly tidy and filled with a mix of unique keepsakes and items popular with many 11-year-olds. There's a PlayStation video game console. Against the wall is a Texas-sized teddy bear sent by school kids, and there, on the dresser, are the Russian Orthodox religious icons and a photo taken at the airport when he left home, showing his father and other relatives and friends.

Mitchell said newfound friends, both in and out of the area's Russian community, are helping to ease the sting of separation for Denis and Janna. They've been given trips to Universal Studios, to Disneyland, and on a Sheriff's Department helicopter. There was an 11th-birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, and traditional Russian feasts with friends.

``There's no time to miss anything, because they're having fun,'' Mitchell said.

And the Russian pair are also thankful for many things most of us take for granted, Mitchell said. Janna, for example, marvels that the water and electricity aren't constantly going out.

``That's one of the joys of life here. This is constant,'' she said through her translator, noting it was a power outage that led to Denis' accident.

``I also want to express gratitude for all the people helping him. Both of us are very grateful,'' she added.

Denis drew on his growing English vocabulary to express their spirit for the season: ``I want to say merry Christmas to everybody in the whole world.''

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: Russian visitors Janna Nefedova and her son, Denis Nefedov, 11, celebrate the holiday American style in the Tarzana home of their host, Diana Mitchell.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer

Box: How to help

How to help: For donations or information about Denis Nefedov or other burn cases, contact the Children's Burn Foundation at Sherman Oaks Hospital, 4929 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403, or call [phone].