Night out which ended in disaster for Trim woman

A brave 20 year-old Trim woman who lost the sight of one eye when she was assaulted after a party has spoken out about the devastating consequences of the incident on her life. What should have been a fun night out at an 18th birthday party ended in disaster when Donna Pearson from Manorlands lost the sight in one of her eyes in a terrifying and brutal assault. She was in court last week when the young woman who assaulted her was jailed for three years. Donna now wants young people to be aware of what can happen when they go out, get drunk and start fighting. "The incident has had terrible consequences for me and delayed my life, but it has ruined hers. I can get on with my life now, but she will always have a criminal conviction and she will have served time in prison," she said. At the Circuit Court in Trim last week, 21 year-old Nicole Regan from Mornington Avenue, Trim, was jailed for three years for assaulting Donna Pearson and causing her harm at Charterschooland, Trim on 14th December 2007. Judge Michael O'Shea described the incident as "sinister" and the assault as "brutal". The incident, which has had such a devastating effect on both girls' lives, took place after they had both been at an 18th birthday party in the Warrenstown Arms public house. Both Donna and her assailant were on a bus which was bringing a group of people back from the party to Trim and there was a petty argument on the bus. When they arrived in Trim, Donna was walking home when she was surrounded by a group of girls. She was thumped in the stomach, face and temple and was pinned against a wall. She distinctly remembers her assailant punching her twice in the eye. The assault by the group of girls only came to an end when Donna's uncle realised what was happening and rushed back to her aid. She was taken to hospital in Navan and transferred the next morning to the Mater Hospital in Dublin, where doctors desperately fought to save her sight. When Donna's uncle had broken up the assault, she went into the nearby Castle Arch Hotel to clean herself up and was horrified to see in the bathroom mirror that "everything was hanging out of one eye". Donna had endured two painful operations on her eye and countless visits to hospitals, which meant she had to abandon a childcare course she had just started and couldn't go ahead with plans to do her driver theory test. Her confidence plummeted and she began to suffer from depression, particularly as she felt intimidated whenever she went out in Trim. Young women she believes to be have been in the group that surrounded her that night stare at her in the street, call her a liar and once a group followed her around a supermarket when she was shopping. Her life was also put on hold as she dealt with her horrific injuries. Her eyeball had burst open in the attack and the first operation involved repairing the iris and she had 16 stitches in her eye."I was on painkillers, tablets and the headaches were unreal," said Donna. She started to suffer from panic attacks when she went out and because of her lack of sight on one side, she often tripped and bumped into people. She stopped going out, except to quieter pubs with her mother, avoiding the places that are more popular with a younger crowd. She left Trim whenever she could, going on breaks to England, where she was born, and later to Australia where she had a very relaxing break before retuirning back to Trim. She said while she felt intimidated by a certain group of people at home, there was a lot of support for her from most of the people of Trim who realised how dreadful were the consequences of the assault. Reliving the whole experience in cout last week was difficult for Donna. While Nicole Regan's barrister apologised on her behalf, Donna and her family said they were disappointed that she didn't get up herself and apologise. Donna's mother, Fiona, said: "We made sure we behaved with dignity in court and left to give Nicole's family time with her to say goodbye." Donna is still battling depression, but is determined that the assault won't ruin her life. "It may have delayed it, but I am determined to get on with my life. I am starting a computer course shortly and I'm looking ahead to the future," she added.