Desiree Gallagher was your typical twenty-something: She enjoyed going to clubs, loved her dog and cats, had close friends and looked forward to graduating college.

Now the 22-year-old is in hospital, 14 screws holding her spine together, a portion of her skull removed to relieve swelling of her brain. She’s partially blind and has lost her short-term memory.

It all started May 24 when the Brantford woman travelled to London for a weekend of partying with friends, her mother Susan Gerth said.

That night, Gerth said, her daughter met Justin Primmer, 29, a convicted killer who served five years in jail after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the stabbing of a Stratford man 10 years ago.

Details of how Gallagher and Primmer met remain murky. But the next day the two were at Primmer’s Talbot St. apartment, where Gallagher was badly beaten before plunging from a seventh-floor balcony.

Primmer recently pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm and was given a six-month sentence.

After credit for time served, he has three months left to go.

“It’s been a nightmare, that’s all I can say,” said Gallagher’s mother, angry Primmer will soon be free but her daughter may never walk again.

Primmer was charged with assault causing bodily harm because police seized a cellphone containing photographs of Gallagher’s badly beaten face from Primmer’s apartment.

“There was evidence to suggest that he assaulted her prior to the fall,” London police Const. Ken Steeves said.

Gallagher’s fall is still under investigation, Steeves said.

“We don’t know how she fell,” Steeves said, adding police can’t pinpoint responsibility for that “because we don’t know.”

Gallagher, who suffered a brain injury, has no memory of the fall or the events leading up to it.

“She may never remember,” said Gerth, adding doctors don’t know how badly her memory will be affected.

Gerth forced herself to go to the downtown building, home to many college and university students, to see where her daughter almost died. She stood staring up at the seventh floor.

“It’s hard to believe that she fell from that high, but I had to see it,” said Gerth, who calls her daughter’s survival a miracle.

“I believe that God has left her on Earth for some purpose in life. She wasn’t ready to leave us yet.”

It’s going to be a long road to recovery for Gallagher, who’s been in the hospital for more than four months and has had four surgeries. The fall broke her spine in two places. She suffered broken bones, a fractured neck and collapsed lung.

The petite brunette weighs around 90 pounds now. Her plans to finish biotechnology studies at Mohawk College have been dashed for now.

“Most people fall apart when they see her,” her mother said. “She’s still that beautiful girl, but she’s different.”

Gerth credits the staff at London Health Sciences Centre for saving her daughter’s life.

She’s worried her daughter will need 24-hour care after she’s released from the hospital. Her voice breaks when she talks about the future.

“You have to continue on for her, because if you fall apart you’re no good to her. You have to be strong.”

dale.carruthers@sunmedia.ca

Twitter.com/DaleatLFPress