A young girl who was stabbed along with several others in a knife attack in Dublin city centre late last year has been released from hospital.
The girl, aged five at the time of the incident on Parnell Square on November 23rd, was left in a critical condition and fighting for her life.
Last Friday, following 281 days in Temple Street Children’s Hospital, the girl and her family began a “new chapter” in her ongoing rehabilitation.
In an update on the gofundme.com fundraising website today, her family said: “Today we begin a new chapter in our darling’s rehabilitation or as we call it ‘The Gym’. The hope is that she is able to swallow food, move her arms and legs more purposefully, and utter some more sounds.”
Last month her parents explained their lives were “turned upside down” by what happened to their daughter.
Writing on the gofundme page Barróg do Chailín Beag (A Hug For A Little Girl) they said that their day started as “normal”.
They continued: “It started as a normal day (rushing out the door, catching the train, dropping off the child at crèche, running to work). At 1.45pm, I got the worst phone call I could ever get: ‘Something happened! Your daughter was stabbed in front of the school.’
“I ran over and saw a horrific site. I saw my little girl lying on the ground. Doctors and paramedics trying to get her heart beating and air in her lungs. She was brought back to life by the amazing team at Temple Street Children’s Hospital.”
The family revealed that some people are wondering why it has taken her so long to recover and if she will be the same little girl as before.
“The human brain is a very complex organ. Deprive it of oxygen for too long and the body suffers. The longer it takes to get it working again, the longer it is to regain function,” they noted.
They highlighted that their “little warrior” has a few things going for her in that she is young, was a healthy girl before the attack, she has a “great team working with her, a loving family, loving friends, and prayers from all over”.
“She has improved so much already during this period. We have learned the beauty of patience and perseverance. One hour at a time turned into one day at a time. Now we go one week at a time. Soon it will be one month at a time. There is no rush. We will take the blessings as they come.”
The girl was able to go home for a day to a new adapted home in a new neighbourhood.
Riad Bouchaker (50) is currently before the courts and is charged with three counts of attempted murder, one of producing and possession of a kitchen knife, three accounts of assault causing harm and one of assault causing serious harm.
The multiple stabbing outside Coláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square left two other young children and a carer injured. Their carer was critically injured and spent more than a month in the Mater hospital. She has recovered well and is continuing with medical appointments.
None of those nor their families injured in the incident have spoken publicly about what happened.
