Greening I t was only her second visit to Bermuda and the summer's beginnings were in the air, seeming to foretell of fresh starts, new hope.

Two years had passed since a serious car accident in her hometown of Horn Lake, Mississippi. And, to the delight of family members, that first evening of the trip was spent dancing to Bob Marley at St. George's' White Horse Tavern.

It was a night later recalled by family members to be a testament to Mia Warren's desire to "get back into life'' once more.

But the pain which sent her to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital on that early morning of May 28, 1997 was just the beginning of what loved ones would later call a "nightmare'' experience and which would see them leaving the Island without the girl who, only days before, had seemed to be literally "bursting with life''.

A return of old wounds that had supposedly been fixed in February 1996 by two specially designed Harrington Rods later, at least partly, proved to contribute to the 21-year-old's death.

An abscess, formed around one of the metal supports, ruptured at some unknown point and so began a long, painful death that was left unchecked until it was too late. Two and half years later, four mourners sat in a cold courtroom reliving every moment of those few tragic days and, made possible by a thorough Police investigation, hearing the views and opinions of every doctor, nurse or social worker who came into contact with Mia in the run-up to her death.

But now, in the days after the inquest, family members are able to think, to remember, to reflect over a photograph covered floor about just who this beautiful girl was and what such an untimely death means in the scheme of things.

Born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Mia Jo Warren spent her early years like any other ordinary American kid.

Mia Warren: A life that ended too soon She would go to the beach with friends and on holidays to visit grandparents on a little island called Bermuda.

When a brother came along, Mia took the opportunity to fawn over him, to mother him like he was her own little baby.

According to her mother, Jody Lynn Hays, she expressed early her ambition to become a school teacher.

"Mia just loved kids,'' she recalled. "I was always trying to talk her out of being a teacher, telling her how they don't make very much. But you could see that's what she really wanted to do.

"I could tell just from looking at how she got on with her brother Garrett.

Mia had a way of talking to kids, of making them listen, that made her especially good with them.'' After moving to Mississippi, Mia gradually settled into small town life, making the honour roll at high school and joining the cheerleader team.

"She was very intelligent and outgoing,'' Mrs. Hays said, "and she was the type of person who just has to smile at you to make you feel happy.'' But Mia's carefree days were to be interrupted by a serious road accident that left her temporarily brain damaged and requiring surgery to her back.

"The crash caused a bruise to Mia's brain,'' Aunt Wanda Ingemann-Simons said.

"After that her actions were more like a 14 year old, than a 19 year old.'' Being the survivor that she was, the crash happily did not mean things would never be the same again.

After surgery, and the insertion of the two back supports, Mia made massive improvements.

"It made her realise that life is just too short. She started to get everything right and gradually began to really live again,'' Ms Ingemann-Simons said.

Mia began a job as a waitress at a Memphis restaurant and started to save up for the day when she would, hopefully, go to the University of Memphis and study to be a teacher.

"She really made a lot of money in that job,'' Mrs. Hays said. "But what she didn't save, she'd give to her brother so he could have a good time.'' But just when things were beginning to "go smoothly'' again, the family made the fateful trip to Bermuda for an uncle's wedding.

"It was terrible that she had to suffer so much and I feel guilty that she had to go through so much of it alone,'' Mrs. Hays said.

"We had no idea that it was life threatening. When we got the news that they were drilling holes in her back it was bad enough. When we heard she had died it was a horrible shock.'' "It was a nightmare,'' Ms Ingemann-Simons added.

In her family, Mia has found a way for her spirit to go on.

Not one day goes by when they do not sit and think about who she was and perhaps cry about who she might have been.

Mia's impact on those around her was clear after her death.

"The entire community was devastated,'' Mrs. Hays said. "At her funeral there were at least 600 people. When I talked to them, they all seemed to think of Mia as their best friend. That's the kind of girl she was.'' On Monday a five-day inquest ended into the 21-year-old's death during which a Coroner's jury heard evidence from doctors, nurses, family members and friends. Coroner William Francis ruled that it was not for the jury to decide if anyone bore responsibility for the death. The jury recorded the simple facts of where Ms Warren died, on what date and of what cause. An autopsy had revealed Ms Warren was the victim of staphylococcal meningits, or a bacterial infection to the outer portion of the brain. The family are now seeking legal action against the hospital and a doctor.

Photos courtesy of Jody Lynn Hays Innocent: Mia, at age six, is all smiles for the camera.

Radiating happiness: Mia Warren, at age 19, gets ready for a night out on the town.

Sibling affection: Mia, at age 20, shares a moment at home with little brother Garrett, who was 14 at the time.