RUSSIAN BOY FINDS HOPE IN VALLEY.

Byline: Steve Carney Daily News Staff Writer

Holding the lollipop between two knotted fingers, Denis Nefedova tore the wrapper off with his teeth in one deft move - proving Friday that he's adapted to the horrible burns that cost him much of the use of his hands.

But the maneuver revealed something else - that the 10-year-old from far-off Sakhalin Island in Russia is still just a typical kid.

With childlike resilience and optimism, he's actually looking forward to the coming year of surgeries and treatments he'll start Monday at the Grossman Burn Center of Sherman Oaks Hospital and Health Center.

``I'm not worried, not even a little bit,'' the boy said through a translator. ``Everybody is so kind.''

Denis' case came to the attention of Dr. Michael Pomo of North Hollywood, who was volunteering his services on Sakhalin Island. Pomo contacted Dr. A. Richard Grossman, the burn center's founder, who agreed to donate his services and helped get a $50,000 contribution from the Children's Burn Foundation of Sherman Oaks to defray costs.

The eyes of Denis' mother, Janna, 32, continually moisten when she gazes at her son, at Grossman, or at the others helping Denis.

``We will hope for miracles to happen,'' she said through translator Mila Chernetsky, a medical biller in Grossman's office.

An accident at the family home last year ignited gasoline fumes that blew up in Denis' face, melting his skin and scarring his head and hands.

Doctors in his hometown and in Moscow did what they could, but last week the boy and his mother came to the United States seeking what they called a miracle at the world-famous burn center in Sherman Oaks.

On Monday, Denis will start surgery on his face, the first step in what could be a yearlong rehabilitation for the cheerful boy with the bright, green eyes, just like his mother.

``Our job is to do the face first, so he can get back into schooling and get some interpersonal contact,'' Grossman said. ``The big thing is when he looks in the mirror he won't feel so bad about himself.''

While he talked, Grossman held and stroked Denis' gnarled hands, and brushed the child's brown bangs with his fingers.

The child gives away no trace of self-consciousness about his scars, and insists he's eager about his imminent medical odyssey.

His mother has realistic expectations, according to Chernetsky, the translator.

``She knows he'll never be 100 percent,'' Chernetsky said. ``But she also knows from people that Dr. Grossman can do unbelievable things, and she knows he'll do everything he can for Denis.

``She's so overcome by emotions that it's very difficult for her to express her feelings for all the help and the good wishes, not only from newly found friends, but from the hospital and the burn center.''

Nefedova works as a police detective in their hometown, Korsakov, a city of 30,000 on Sakhalin Island, just north of Japan. Her husband, Andre, serves in the Russian coast guard.

The day of the accident, his mother dropped Denis off from school and returned to work, leaving him at home alone. She returned in 40 minutes to check on him, but by then disaster had struck.

As daylight faded, Denis decided to light a candle to brighten the family's small apartment - darkened by one of the frequent power outages in the city.

To circumvent gasoline shortages, the family kept fuel cans in the hallway. Denis' candle tipped over and ignited the fumes, engulfing the boy in a searing flash.

A neighbor heard the explosion and broke open a window to call the boy. Dazed and badly hurt, Denis stumbled to the window and was rushed to the hospital.

But Sakhalin Island has no burn specialists, so no plastic surgeons were available in the crucial early days of his treatment. After two months of treatment on the island, and two more at more advanced facilities in Moscow, Russian efforts had been exhausted.

Grossman said he wants to trim the scar tissue from Denis' face and graft on skin from his leg, which is more elastic and will allow him more normal expressions and movement. He also plans to reconstruct the boy's nose, then get to work on his hands. He'll graft more flexible skin there, also, and try to give him back his opposable thumbs. They're now useless, stiffened by scar tissue, Grossman said.

Because the Nefedovas' household income is only $80 a month, neighbors on the island pitched in for plane fare for Denis and his mother. Andre Nefedova stayed home to keep working.

Now Denis' American caretakers are looking for Russian-speaking families who can house the family in the coming year.

Pomo's sister, Diane K. Barackman of North Hollywood, met the Nefedovas at the airport last week. She presented Denis with a stuffed lion, telling him the king of the jungle represents courage.

``How interesting. I was born under the sign of the lion,'' said the boy, who will turn 11 on Aug. 9.

And on Wednesday they made the requisite trip to Disneyland.

``That's been his life's dream, to go on a roller coaster,'' the Russian name for which translates to ``American hill,'' Janna Nefedova said.

Barackman said when they arrived, she asked Denis, ``Shall we stop and eat?''

``Nyet! Nyet!'' he insisted.

She first took him to the Tiki Room, with its talking animatronic birds.

``He said, Thank you. Can we go on the roller coaster now?''

And his favorite ride?

``Everything,'' he said.

Next, Chernetsky promised, will be a trip to Magic Mountain. But Nefedova stressed she wanted no part of the imposing roller coasters there.

Denis can't contain his excitement, though. And seeing her son's glee, Nefedova allows a broad smile to cross her face.

HOW TO HELP

To help Denis Nefedova or assist with other child burn cases, contact the Children's Burn Foundation at [phone]. Or write the foundation at 4929 Van Nuys Blvd., Sherman Oaks, CA 91403.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1) Janna Nefedova waits with her son, Denis, 10, for treatment at the Grossman Burn Center.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Special to the Daily News

(2) Denis Nefedova poses for a family photo before the accident that burned his hands and face.