The mother of the 11-year-old boy crushed in a lift shaft last week was unable to attend his memorial service on Saturday after a medical condition was picked up by doctors and she had to undergo a lifesaving operation.
Troy Spiers was visiting his paternal grandfather's home at Gulf Harbour on Auckland's Whangaparaoa Peninsula on Wednesday when he was crushed while playing hide-and-seek.
His maternal grandfather Alan Watson said on Facebook that Troy's mother Melanie Watson "was so traumatised with grief that it exacerbated a life-threatening medical condition that she was unaware of".
He said on Saturday: "Melanie was rushed by ambulance to hospital... and underwent a lifesaving operation.
"Sad to say she will not be able to attend her son's service tomorrow," he said.