They said she is still non-verbal as she continues to recover, with the family focusing on “the now” and enjoying “all the special moments”.
The two other children and a carer who were also injured during the incident last November were treated in hospital in the aftermath and have since been discharged.
In an update, the family of the young girl said there is a “bittersweet feeling” this week as she celebrates her sixth birthday, admitting that it “isn’t easy thinking of what could’ve been, but it’s important not to dwell in the unknown”.
“Our sweet girl turns 6. She had just turned 5 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 5th: she wanted to master riding a bike in order to get roller skates by the time she turned 6. We had to put that plan on hold.
“This weekend I got our face paint kit out and asked her what she wanted to be. 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 said in an update shared to an online fundraiser which has raised over €110,500 since the incident.
“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.”
She was discharged from Temple Street Children’s Hospital in early September after 281 days to “begin a new chapter” in her rehabilitation.
“The hope is that she is able to swallow food, move her arms and legs more purposefully, and utter some more sounds,” her family said, later sharing that they have begun to “see changes in our little angel on a daily basis”.
A fundraiser to support the family has raised over €110,500 since the incident last November, money which they said has gone a long way for their daughter’s care and rehabilitation as they thanked supporters for their generosity.
“Over the last months we have had to move to a bigger place with a wheelchair accessible layout, furnish the house thinking about space and functionality, get an adapted car which has enabled us to take our darling home at the weekends, plus daily costs. Not having a kitchen to cook meals in does add up,” they said.
“We are hoping to be home full time before Christmas.”
