Katia Regina Carvalho fell painfully when the ladder she was up folded in half at her family home in Itaguara, Brazil.
Security camera footage from the incident on March 13 showed the 56-year-old landing hard on her bum and beginning to cry in pain.
Moments later, her husband can be seen jumping from a height of several feet onto the grass without thinking twice.
Katia told local media: "My husband was where the water reservoir is located. There were some wasp nests there, and he asked me for insecticide.
"When I reached the edge of the roof and he stretched his arm to grab it, the ladder fell and I fell right after.
"At the moment, all that went through my head was that I had broken my spine. I could feel my legs and move my feet, but I was very afraid of internal bleeding."
Katia's husband Alexandre did not injure himself in the jump and ran over to help his wife straight away.
Katia said: "I asked him to take me to the hospital and, with minimal effort, I got into the car surrounded by pillows. He immediately took me to Betim."
At hospital, Katia was given X-rays and CT scans, but no bone fractures or fissures were found. She only sustained cuts and scrapes on her elbows, and bruises on her right arm and buttocks in the fall.
However, she was left in a lot of pain, not least because she has two slipped discs in her lower back.
Katia is now well and back at home. She said doctors' first concern had been whether she would be left a paraplegic.
However, she escaped serious injury and said her two daughters and son were now helping to take care of her.
The former Military Police officer added: "We were scared by the force of the impact. There are times when I don't even believe that I went through this."
It was a stroke of luck that the incident was recorded, as the family had only installed the security camera days earlier, following a burglary next door.
Katia said: "We weren't even thinking of installing a camera at that moment, but we did it out of insecurity because we don't always stay in this house, and it's hard to leave it alone."
The footage was subsequently shared online and was viewed many times.
Katia told local media: "I understand that accidents happen and we have to be careful. Sometimes we fail. We are human.
"My husband has always been a careful husband and a dedicated father.
"His actions have touched many people because of the care he has always shown for us. I am privileged."
