The six-year-old girl was one of three children and an adult who were injured in the incident outside Coláiste Mhuire on Parnell Square on November 23, 2023.
The two other children, as well as creche worker Leanne Flynn Keogh who was also injured, were treated in hospital and discharged in November.
The girl was discharged from Temple Street Hospital on August 30 after 281 days.
Her family shared an update on her recovery on Tuesday as she continues to undergo rehabilitation after previously expressing hopes that she will be home “full-time by Christmas”.
They explained that the girl is still non-verbal but is “working on her ability to communicate” using special technology.
Sharing their delight, they wrote: “We have had family over from far away and they were so impressed with how much she has improved.
“She has been more in control of her neck movements. She can lift her head more and more without assistance.
“She can move her arms up purposefully and (is) grasping objects with full intent. She is working on her ability to communicate through a computer programme, and is getting faster at it.
“She is so loving. She can be having a rough day, but will still smile when people walk into the room.
“She loves pretending to hide. She gets a good laugh out of it.”
Reflecting on the past eleven months, they added: “Almost a year in. Time has flown, and we have come so far. We still have so much to accomplish.”
In a recent update on the little girl’s sixth birthday, the family said that the milestone “held a bittersweet feeling”.
“She had just turned five when all this started. She had been in junior infants for a couple of months. She had met her cousins in my hometown for the first time. She had plans for her fifth (birthday),” they posted.
“She wanted to master riding a bike in order to get roller skates by the time she turned six. We had to put that plan on hold.”
The family also compared their little girl to a caterpillar as they undergo chrysalis before eventually becoming a butterfly.
“This weekend I got our face paint kit out and asked her what she wanted to be,” they wrote.
“To be honest, I am not good at it, but it was simply a moment of fun. After much deliberation, her eyes lingered on the butterfly one. She is still non-verbal.
“While I painted her face in tones of pink and orange, I kept thinking of the book I bought while she was still in Temple Street. It was about the phases the caterpillar goes through before becoming a butterfly.
“Perhaps our angel was still a caterpillar in November of 2023. Now she is in her chrysalis, getting stronger, changing, adapting, and will come out a butterfly in the end.”
They added: “It isn’t easy thinking of what could’ve been, but it’s important not to dwell in the unknown. We try to focus on the now and enjoy all the special moments we have.”
