"I was in Palmerston North hospital for about a year, and then a year of rehabilitation, learning to walk again, and acceptance."
Her right leg was broken in several places, resulting in a 5in (12.7cm) difference in leg length.
"I had to wear a shoe with a built-up heel to compensate. That, and the leg being disfigured, meant the nursing career had to be shelved.
Instead, she moved to Raetihi, met a man and married him, and worked on a farm.
"I was there 20 years. I worked hard, I think I overdid it ... I probably wore my leg out.
"I had years of surgery to keep the leg but about nine years ago I found I was in so much pain, I was suffering from dropfoot [a condition caused by nerve damage], I had to have it off. It wasn't an easy choice but I had to do it."
She says the operation to remove the leg wasn't major, but the "biggie" was learning to cope and accept having only one leg.
That, and the phantom pains which persist to this day.
She has had several prosthetic legs but a bad fall last year shattered the artificial knee and damaged her sciatic nerve so badly she's still on crutches.
But none of these hurdles have slowed her down. She works for the local Coastguard radio, assists with the Patea and Districts Boating Club's competitions and helps the Patea Old Folks Association with their Tuesday games days.
She's also events co-ordinator for the Taranaki Amputee Society, and now Christine is trying to set up a regular series of events for fellow amputees from South Taranaki and Wanganui to meet, socialise and compete.
Rather than "afternoon cups of tea" she wants to organise darts, pool, indoor bowls and other activities on a regular basis.
"I also want to see more community interaction, days out - think outside the box a bit, perhaps fishing trips, kayaking, cinema afternoons, just something for them to do. We need to get more interaction going with other areas, other regions."
She has approached a couple of venues in Wanganui and Patea but says it's vital to get interest before accepting any offers.
"We're prepared to travel to get that energy, that excitement going in their home town first, and then the next one can be up this way."
It seems her enthusiasm is not shared by members of the Amputees Society of Manawatu, under whose jurisdiction Wanganui falls. Their secretary, John Maher, said only one member expressed any interest in the Challenge concept - and that person was not from Wanganui.
But Christine's not put off.
"We're dead keen. It doesn't matter if it starts small - great things have small beginnings - and it'll grow through word-of-mouth. There's huge interest here.
"We're not helpless like people might think, we're gutsy and we like a challenge."
Christine can be contacted on 06 273 6088.
