Mum will miss son's funeral

Troy Spiers died in Gulf Harbour on Wednesday. Photo / Supplied

The mother of the 11-year-old boy crushed in an Auckland lift shaft will miss his funeral service in Oamaru today because she has been on life support after an emergency operation.

Troy Spiers was playing hide-and-seek with his siblings in his paternal grandfather's home at Gulf Harbour on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula on Wednesday when he was killed.

The next day, his mother, Melanie Watson, was rushed to hospital after an abscess on her fallopian tube ruptured.

Ms Watson's father, prominent Auckland magician Alan Watson, said the news of Troy's death had exacerbated a medical condition his daughter hadn't been aware she had.

"I rang the ambulance [on Thursday morning] and they just took one look at her and said she needed to go in. The doctor told us it was life-threatening. That is why I have been a bit clingy and her mum has been very clingy with her."

He said his daughter was now coming off life support.

"She is stable now but she is drifting in and out. She is off a lot of the life support stuff now so she is going the right way [but] she has a long way to go."

Troy's death was the second tragedy involving a youngster to rock the family. In 2003, Melanie's twin sister, Larissa Watson, lost her 3-year-old daughter, Tiffany Gale, in a swimming pool accident.

Mr Watson said he and his wife, Michele (Melanie's stepmother), would miss Troy's funeral today - at his school, Pembroke Primary in Oamaru - because they did not want to leave her side.

Melanie's mother, Mary Wilson, and her husband, Tony, would also remain with her.

"We have lost two and we are not going to lose a third. We want to stick around Melanie, and what we planned to do is later on, when she is right and she is ready ... We want to step back and let her have a memorial service and be able to invite all her family and friends.

"It is something she will feel will help bring closure for her.

"It is very hard because a funeral is usually a celebration of a person's life and you go through and see how they have made changes and ... where they have made an impact on society and their friends and family but when you lose a child like this it is devastating. It breaks your heart."

Mr Watson said he still thought of little Tiffany all the time and often found himself crying when he heard music that reminded him of her.

"They say that time heals; it doesn't heal. What it does it that it allows you to live with it."

It was unclear on Sunday whether Melanie Watson will be released from hospital before Christmas.

The family expect to know that in the next few days.