The milestones never to be celebrated are the most difficult reminders for Sharon and Bill Shore.

The Thornhill parents of 10-year old Lisa Shore, found lifeless in her Hospital for Sick Children ward in 1998, speak haltingly after a tumultuous week in which almost seven years of legal battes concluded with no satisfaction.

"The special days are hard," Ms Shore said, "When I attend synagogue and there's a B'hat Mitzvah ceremony, I cry. We just watched our son's graduation. Mother's Day. She'd be starting university now. Lisa would be driving."

Brave, silent smiles punctuate remembrance of the little girl who was admitted to hospital with pain in a recently broken leg.

Ms Shore, vigilantly sleeping in the same hospital room and assured by doctors her daughter was being electronically monitored, woke to the flurry of medical staff trying desperately and unsuccessfully to revive the child.

Mr. Shore thinks of his daughter on her birthday and the day she died. "And the first warm day of spring. I don't know why, but I think of her then, too."

Mr. Shore, who drove Lisa and his wife to the hospital in 1998 and returned home to tend to their two sons, now 13 and 16, said public scrutiny of their tribulations doesn't open old wounds.

"That day, Oct. 22, was a 10 out of 10 in terms of the worst possible," he said. "It can't get any worse than that."

Time has not dulled the memory of a vibrant child or the Shores' quest for answers that never really came.

Following Lisa's passing, the Shores embarked on an exhaustive crusade to discover the truth. The mission was not premised on vengeance, rather vindication, clarity and closure, Ms Shore said.

To this day, the family has no definitive or clinical explanation for their daughter's death.

The two nurses subsequently cleared of criminal negligence, but suspended last week by the Ontario College of Nurses, were back working at Sick Kids.

If such a nightmarish experience can have any semblance of benefit, the Shores have discovered and embraced it.

In 2000, Ms Shore began the cathartic process of meticulously chronicling the ordeal.

The result, a 380-page book entitled No Moral Conscience - The Hospital for Sick Children and the death of Lisa Shore, was released last February.

"The main reason for the book is to allow people to understand and to get the truth out," she said.

"It's the only justice I can get for Lisa and how the wrong doers will be held accountable."

The memoir and a website have repeatedly been targeted by the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General and lawyers for the nurses.

Bullying maneuvers to quiet the case caused her original publisher to back off and forced the Internet host to drop the site.

Undaunted, Ms Shore self-published and moved the site to an American location.

"It was quite ugly," she said. "We took the letters claiming libel to our lawyer and they were just scare tactics. It didn't scare me. The book and website, ultimately, are in my daughter's memory."

Adopting the attitude that defiance is the only avenue in the face of adversity, Ms Shore persevered.

A certified general accountant at the time of the tragedy, Ms Shore applied to Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in 2001. Three weeks ago she graduated and is articling for a Toronto law firm.

"When Lisa died, we saw a lawyer who is well versed in medical malpractice. Basically, he told us the case wasn't worth enough.

He said his fees would be more than we'd get (in damages). He didn't exactly say F.O., but it was clear he didn't want to help," she said.

"From there, we found our lawyer, Frank Gomberg. He's become a close friend and mentor and he's been instrumental in my going to law school."

Another reason for a legal career stemmed from Ms Shore having to represent herself during an inquest examining complaints against hospital staff.

The experience has reshaped them, Ms Shore said.

"We're definitely stronger, sadder and much, much wiser," she said. "We've learned a lot about how the world works. Before, we were very naÔve, very trusting. We had never been tested."

Ms Shore hopes to become a litigation specialist.

"I would like to be a lawyer with far more compassion than those I've met in the past," she said.

"I will practice with integrity, do pro bono work and help the little guy. I want to help the Davids of the world. The Goliaths don't need my help."

Lisa will be the guidepost for the road ahead, the couple said.

"I could tell you that people have to take care of their children, watch them, keep them safe. I did all that. I took Lisa to the hospital, and still ... What I feel truthfully, is the Hospital for Sick Kids does many wonderful things for many children. But, if they mess up, God help you," Ms Shore said.

The truth will serve as the highest memorial to their daughter.

"The best tribute to Lisa is she stands for integrity, honesty, accountability and she was a little girl who was dearly loved," she said.

Ms Shore's book is available from the Batner Book Store (Steeles Avenue and Yonge Street), Chapters in Woodbridge and can be ordered online at www.amazon.com. Information is also available at www.lisashore.com

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CHRONOLOGY OF A TRAGEDY

· Feb. 1998 Lisa Shore breaks her leg in a school yard mishap. Within weeks, the 10-year-old develops severe pain in the limb. Her parents, Bill and Sharon Shore, bring her to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

· May 1998 The pain continues. The Shores take Lisa to Boston Children's Hospital, where she is diagnosed with a rare condition, reflexive sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), triggered by the leg break.

· Oct. 21 1998 The pain flares again and the Shores return to Sick Kids Hospital. The attending physician, aware of the RSD, prescribes morphine for the child and orders her to be monitored electronically.

· Oct. 22, 1998 Early in the morning, doctors making rounds find Lisa with no vital signs. They try to resuscitate her with defibrillators to no avail.

· Dec. 1998 With no satisfactory explanations, the Shores order hospital records and take their case to the Ontario Coroner's Office.

· Nov. 1999 The coroner's inquest into Lisa's death begins

· Feb. 2000 The coroner's jury determines Lisa's death was the result of human error and not an accident as argued by the hospital.

· March 2000 Ms Shore files a complaint against the nurses with the College of Nurses of Ontario.

· Oct. 2001 Charges of criminal negligence are laid against the two nurses.

· May 2003 Criminal charges are withdrawn. Prosecutors said there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.

· Nov. 2003 The nurses, suspended by the hospital since March 2000, return to work.

· Sept. 2005 The College of Nurses, the profession's self-regulating body, issues both nurses with a one-month suspension for professional misconduct.