She'd just seen two people get murdered, been struck in the head with a machete and tended to her bloody friends.
But Christiana King didn't have time to rest when her 28-strong trekking party was ravaged by a brutal gang of assailants.
The trek leader had to walk for five hours, stumbling through the dark Papua New Guinean jungle.
Two years later, Ms King's conspicuous bravery was recognised with the rare Star of Courage honour on Friday.
Her group had been attacked as they made their journey along the Black Cat Track in September 2013.
The registered nurse had seen two porters slaughtered and another fatally wounded by the armed gang but still stepped forward to try to stop more killings.
Ceremony attendees heard the Cairns mother acted "without regard for her personal safety" when the balaclava-clad men asked who was leading the trekkers.
She tried to negotiate and pleaded with the men to stop the assault before being knocked to the ground with a blow to the head.
Ms King then put herself in danger again by leading those that could still walk through a barely discernible track.
"Ms King voluntarily took the most vulnerable position ... knowing that another attack could take place at any time," Government House Deputy Official Secretary, Cecily Pearson said.
Alongside Ms King, Graham Gourlay was also recognised for being one of the first responders to an asylum seeker boat crash on Christmas Island in 2010.
He and five others spent hours manoeuvring inflatable boats around debris and near cliffs in an attempt to save 90 people who had been flung into rough seas.
They saved 42.
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