SPRINGFIELD -- A teenager who was critically injured after being hit by a car in September prepared to leave the hospital on Friday. Before Kimmy Armstrong left, the father of the 16-year-old Hillcrest High School student talked to reporters about her recovery.

Sept. 22 is a day that Bill Armstrong won't ever forget.

"I was looking at my daughter in the bed, and I never knew if I'd be able to tell her I love her,” said Armstrong.

Now, not only can he tell her but she can more than hear him.

"She can tell me she loves me,” he said.

She's making strides back to her old life. Talking is still difficult.

"Each day you look for that positive step."

These days, that progress is coming steps at a time, and Friday comes as a leap.

"She's been counting down the days,” to when she goes home.

"It's the most wonderful feeling I've had since Sept. 22."

Kim will still face persistent reminders of the accident. She'll be back at the hospital for hours every day, going through physical, occupational, and speech therapy. That makes a return to school all but impossible for the junior, at least for the next few months.

“She just wants to go back to school. It drives her."

Dad hopes her desire to get back to the classroom and back to her friends motivates her through these sessions.

"She says she's going back in January."

So far, doctors are saying it's more likely she'll be home-schooled through the rest of her junior year but that remains to be seen. Kim's dad says he knows better than to underestimate this determined teen.

"When Kim gets that look in her eye, it's written in stone."

Despite the setbacks and uncertainty, her dad says one thing is for sure: she will graduate with her class next year.