AND Benjamin Moore® Paints Teknicolor Paints, Inc, A Paint Store and More! Great S ervice Great Products 2oz. COLOR SAMPLES 3.99 per can Available in 280 Benjamin Moore colors. I Swim Turns Tragic Young woman hit by boat faces long-term recovery. SHELLI LIEBMAN DORFMAN StalfWriter A swim during a family picnic turned into a nightmarish medical battle for Alexandra Pereverzev, 23, of Farmington Hills, when a ski boat ran over the young woman and her boyfriend, leaving her with devastating injuries. "We were told the boat was going very fast and had four or five people in it," said Vladimir Sulla of West Bloomfield, Alexandra's uncle and family spokesman. "Because of the speed and the Alexandra amount of people Pereverzev inside, the nose of the boat went up and the driver could not see Alexandra and her boyfriend in the water." According to Sulla, when the boat's pilot realized she hit the couple who had been swimming offshore June 26 at the Island Lake Recreation Area near Brighton, she went to help them. "They took them on the boat and called 911," Sulla said. Alexandra was flown by helicopter to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, where she will be for about another month. Meanwhile, back on shore, Alexandra's mother, Irina, answered her daughter's ringing cell phone. "It was the hospital calling her," Sulla said. "The only number her boyfriend knew was Alexandra's cell phone num- ber, so he gave it to them at the hospi- tal and my sister, Irina, who couldn't see what had happened from where she was on the shore, answered it and immediately went to her daughter." Within hours of the mid-evening accident, Alexandra was undergoing brain surgery. "At around midnight, the doctor said he took part of her brain out on the left side, which left her paralyzed on her right side and unable to speak," Sulla said. "Then they gave her an hour to rest and did very complicated surgery on her injured left hand. She had a sec- ond surgery on her hand a few days later." "I talked to the doctor that first night, and he didn't give even one little word of hope," Sulla said. "He just said the only goal was to save her life." Within a few days, Alexandra, who the family calls "Sasha," came out of the coma she had been in since that first evening. She was still unable to speak or read. But Sulla maintains, his niece's long- term prognosis is good. "However, the doctors say her recovery will take a long time — maybe a year or two — but there is no guarantee of 100 percent healing," he said. "Because Sasha still cannot move her right arm and because we are not sure her left hand will ever be functional, there is a chance she will be disabled for a very long time." Alexandra is a graduate of Walled Lake Western High School and was about to start her senior year atWayne State University in Detroit. Instead, she has been hospitalized since the acci- dent, according to her uncle. Alexandra's boyfriend has undergone three surgical procedures on his right hand, which Sulla said was his only major injury. "His hand was severely damaged; but his cast finally came off, and the hope is that his hand will func- tion normally," he said. With the case still open, Green Oak Township police, who responded to the initial 911 call, declined comment. Because Alexandra's medical insur- ance will not cover all of her medical and therapy expenses, a fund has been established to help offset costs. In addi- tion, Alexandra's mother has taken a medical leave of absence from her job to be with her daughter. "Compared to what we heard that night of the accident, how Sasha is now is really like a miracle," Sulla said. "But, at the same time, it is still a very long process if she will ever get back to nor- mal. It is incredible how, in just one minute, the life of a whole family was turned upside down." ❑ To make a donation to help cover the costs of medical care and therapy for Alexandra Pereverzev, send a check to: Sasha's Medical Fund, Metro Bank, P.O. BoX 8, Farmington, MI 48332-0008. A great cost-effective way to test colors!! The best way to test color is to put it on your walls! Teknicolors, the name you can trust and the service you deserve!! 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