It was a Friday afternoon in July, 2001, when Theresa Ebbin got the phone call that every parent dreads. Her ten-month-old son, Stephen, was in a coma in hospital.

"I thought he was going to die. This was my first child. I had two miscarriages before Stephen and I thought to myself, 'I can't lose my only child'," Ms Ebbin told yesterday.

The next few hours on that day were a mixture of fear and shock as doctors made plans to air ambulance Stephen to Children's Hospital Boston that evening.

Once the family reached Boston, they were shocked to learn the severity of Stephen's brain injuries.

"I didn't know what had happened ? at that point we didn't know what the real problem was. I was crying, my sister was crying, we all were trying to stay calm and listen to what the doctors were saying," said Ms Ebbin.

Stephen's was in a coma for several hours, but his injuries were so severe that doctors were close to putting him on a life support machine. He remained in Boston for several days before flying home and spending another week at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

In court this week, nearly three years after the event, day care owner Jacquelyn Fubler who was looking after Stephen on the day he was taken to hospital, admitted abusing the ten-month-old.

Fubler had shaken him so vigorously that blood vessels had burst in parts of Stephen's brain. She is now in custody awaiting sentencing.

At Fubler's trial, prosecution witness Dr. Alexander Baron, a paediatrician at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, said that bruises on Stephen's thighs and the markings on his forehead and face were consistent with him having been grasped tightly and forcibly by an adult hand.

Dr. Baron said it appeared that someone might have grabbed Stephen by the left thigh and held him in the air by his leg.

Dr. Baron also explained how shaken baby syndrome can cause severe brain injuries in a ten month old.

"The rapid backwards and forwards motion of the head causes the still fragile blood vessels in the child's brain to burst open, resulting in bleeding," he said.

Ms Ebbin took her son to Fubler's Noah's Ark Day Care Centre in Warwick for the first time just days before he was abused. She suspects that Fubler inflicted the injuries on Stephen because the child, frightened at being away from his mother for the first time, would not stop crying.

"Every parent goes through a time when they feel like, 'would you please stop crying'," she said.

"I know it must have been frustrating for her, but she could have called me and I would have come to pick him up."

After leaving hospital Stephen became wary of meeting new people, particularly women. His mother noticed the change immediately as Stephen was even afraid of his Godmother and her close friends.

"He wasn't talking like he used to, it was through dealing with other people, especially women, that you could see the biggest difference in how he was," Ms Ebbin said.

On the surface, Stephen today appears to be unaffected by the injuries, and like any three-year-old he happily runs around the park playing energetically with his grandfather.

But he is still suffering from the effects of the injuries inflicted by the former day care owner.

A few days before the incident, Stephen had taken his first step and his grandfather, Curtis Ebbin, called the toddler's mother right away, delighted to report this milestone.

Sadly, after Stephen returned to Bermuda, he had to be taught the basics of speaking and walking all over again.

And although his height and weight had been normal until 16 months of age, he then fell off the growth curve.

Doctors say Stephen will never develop to the full potential he may have reached as a result of the injuries

He is currently taking regular speech therapy lessons and he has had an assessment by Government's Child Development Programme.

But Ms Ebbin is confident that he can achieve whatever goals he sets, even if it means extra lessons or attending a school for children who are developmentally challenged.

The family has learned to be patient with Stephen, even when he is trying to get out little, three letter words.

His grandfather, Curtis Ebbin, said: "I can watch him trying to get the simple three letter words out like cat and dog ? I don't believe in this moo moo and ga ga kind of thing, I taught my children real words and that's how we wanted to teach Stephen.

"Speech is the biggest thing we notice, he tries his best, but other three-year-olds can carry on a conversation better than he can."

During the trial, Ms Ebbin and her father couldn't stand to be in the court room, close to the woman who had hurt her child. When Ms Ebbin did appear briefly she was surrounded by friends and relatives and her father who has helped her pull through the stress of the last few years. What hurts her the most is that Fubler never apologised for injuring her child so severely, but even if she did, Ms Ebbin says it's too late.

"You can see the attitude in her the entire time; there's been no effort to say I did this and I'm sorry, I can't see any remorse in her. I think what eventually happened is that her attorney told her to do the right thing and in the end she did it."

Ms Ebbin's focus now is on helping other people protect their children and she is encouraging Government to vigilantly monitor day care centres with surprise cleanliness and safety checks.

Instead of relying on word of mouth she says parents should be provided with a register of home day cares and of the qualifications people who run such establishments.

"Health and family services must be more vigilant about doing spot-checks of smaller places where it is more likely for these kind of incidents to happen," she said.

Ms. Ebbin also advises that parents should look for a licence on the wall of day cares and ask the owner lots of questions about their education and experience.

"My biggest advice to parents is to check their children's bodies daily and to watch their reactions when you bring them home. Call and ask questions and if you don't feel comfortable go with your instincts. Parents need to have comfort in knowing that their children are being well-taken care of."