The family of Kiwi woman Abby Hartley, who died in Bali on Sunday, say they understand the Government's decision not to step in to help.
"We have no bad feelings towards the Government and we understand their decision to not assist us with getting mum home," the family said in a Givealittle update on Tuesday.
The 41-year-old fell ill at the beginning of August in Bali and required emergency surgery to remove a section of her bowel. She then developed serious complications including infections, a collapsed lung, kidney failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
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Her family wanted to medically evacuate her back to New Zealand, and struggled with exorbitant medical bills as her insurer would not cover costs as she hadn't disclosed a pre-existing medical condition.
Her husband, Richard Hartley, wrote to the Government for help to bring his wife home, but Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that was not possible.
"Mum is at peace now and we are extremely grateful for the many years of joy and love mum bought us. She will forever be held in our memories and hearts and without a doubt she will make her presence known when she is watching over us," the Hartleys said in the Givealittle update.
"We did everything we could and had to do to help mum fight and get her home
We would like to thank everyone for all of your love and support, it has made everything that little bit easier."
More than $230,000 was raised by more than 400 Givealittle donors to cover the medical costs and pay to have Abby medically evacuated back to New Zealand.
Earlier on Monday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she's "gutted" Abby Hartley wasn't able to make it back to New Zealand, telling The AM Show: "I wish I was in a position to have helped."
But she said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) deals with "roughly 200 plus cases of medical emergencies or medical situations every year, and about 3000 New Zealanders are helped every year abroad."
"The really sad thing is that this isn't an isolated case in assisting New Zealanders overseas," she said, adding, "There will no doubt be other cases where someone will have sought this kind of assistance."
The Hartley family has asked for privacy to grieve for Abby.
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