At 84, Pāpāmoa resident Bonnie Roger never imagined a quick supermarket visit would turn into such a frightening experience.

It was a bright, sunny day, and with groceries in both hands, she stepped between two parking lines.

The sun was in her eyes and a slight brush of her heel on the edge of a curb sent her off-balance.

Despite trying to steady herself, she fell hard on to the tarseal.

Lying there unable to move, her biggest worry was that a car might not see her.

A kind stranger quickly came over and asked if Roger was okay. When she said she wasn’t, he went straight inside to get help.

He then came out and put her groceries in her car and locked it. “An angel in disguise,” Roger said.

Two supermarket staff stayed with her and reassured her.

The ambulance arrived within minutes. Paramedics carefully helped her sit, then stand, and eventually eased her on to the stretcher.

At the hospital, the reality of the fall became clear: a broken hand, a suspected broken arm, two broken ribs on each side, a fractured jaw joint, a cut chin and a denture that had lodged painfully into her gum. She spent two-and-a-half days in hospital before heading home to begin the long process of healing.

Roger said in the weeks that followed, carers, physiotherapists and occupational therapists helped her regain strength and independence. She paused driving and her Justice of the Peace duties while her hand and arm healed.

Roger said she had shared her story because she hoped it raised awareness. “Falls happen so quickly,” she said. “Staying active, eating well, and keeping connected really do make a difference.”

Hato Hone St John Tauranga will be holding a workshop dedicated to falls prevention – to book, go to www.stjohn.org.nz/shop/retail-stores/tauranga/.