As Mrs Hadfield attempted to run from her shaking suburban Merivale house, a heavy antique grandfather clock belonging to her late husband Keith fell on top of her, pinning her right leg to the ground and causing a large gash that would not stop bleeding because of the blood-thinning medication she takes.
She received a skin graft at Christchurch Public Hospital and has spent the past 10 days on full bed rest at her son Chris Hadfield's Wanaka home.
Doctors have told her the skin graft has taken well, but she expects to be in Wanaka for about a month.
"I'd lived in Christchurch all my life until the grandfather clock hit me," Mrs Hadfield said this week.
In between the visits from the district nurse and her son's friends, Mrs Hadfield has had plenty of time to consider her luck, but says she can barely remember the earthquake.
"I feel very lucky. But I can't see how the city is going to get back to being what it was," she said.
Her daughter Joanna and son-in-law Andrew Beadle, and her grandchildren Hannah (14) and Bridget (12), survived the quake despite serious damage to their Monks Spur home.
Her brother Michael Hobbs, a retired district court judge and father of former All Black Jock Hobbs, survived with a blow to his nose from falling masonry, she said.
Mrs Hadfield lost her income from four commercial properties in Papanui Rd, which have been demolished, but hopes to rebuild.
Her daughter's family are living in Mrs Hadfield's home, which she understands is structurally fine although affected by liquefaction.
The grandfather clock survived with barely a scratch, but her carpet had to be lifted because she bled all over it.
Many of her other personal items were destroyed, unlike in the earthquake in September, when one sherry decanter fell down.
Her only complaint is with her son and his partner Paul Tregea, who own Ritual Cafe.
She claims they are overfeeding her.
Her daughter Joanna was taking care of insurance claims and was being a "real brick", despite the stress, she said.
Tonight Mrs Hadfield intends to take an important step in her recovery.
She has been given permission by the district nurse to go out for a drink with some of her son's friends, who are also Christchurch evacuees.
