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The last message Mersey Burrows sent to her sister Lily Arabin before she died in a car crash last week was to say how proud she was of her. 

“You’re doing good. Just be kind to yourself, and I’m proud of you,” Burrows wrote to the 34-year-old Te Puke mum on June 26. 

Later that day, Arabin was travelling on the Tauranga Eastern Link (State Highway 2) between Pāpāmoa and Paengaroa when her vehicle and another collided just before 10am. 

She was flown to Waikato Hospital but died from her injuries the same day. 

Burrows described Arabin as highly intelligent and creative. 

“She wasn’t a social person and would always choose a book and coffee over having interactions with people.” 

Burrows said her sister had struggled with her mental health and addiction, but she vowed to remember her at her happiest. 

“I liked her best when she was happy. She was always cheeky and had a really quick sense of humour because of her intelligence.” 

Arabin had been a “massive foodie”, loved a good coffee, and had a passion for gardening. 

“She was a wizard with house plants.” 

She also used to be a boxer. Burrows said her sister had been really into the sport and was good at it. 

She told the Bay of Plenty Times that Arabin had seen the world differently from most people. 

“She enjoyed expressing herself with tattoos and had a gorgeous collection.” 

Lily Arabin, 34, is being remembered by family for her creativity and intelligence. Photo / Supplied 

That creative expression had been a prominent hobby in her sister’s life. 

“Lily worked at a pottery place when she was living in Welcome Bay, and she used to make random little things for everybody.” 

If there was ever room in the pottery kiln, Arabin would whip up a little mouse or a mushroom or a fairy house to give to her nephews and nieces. 

“That was sweet, and we’ve got little bits of pottery that she’s made for us.” 

Arabin loved dogs. She always had one and would always choose dogs over people. 

“Any dog that needed rescuing, and any chance she could take it and give it a home, she would.” 

Before her death, she came to Burrows for support with her personal troubles. 

“We had been keeping in touch regularly about her struggle, and had been going back and forwards trying to get help.” 

During that time, Arabin made Burrows the guardian of her sons, aged 5 and 8. 

Lily's sons in front of the rescue helicopter that took their mum on her "last ride". 

Burrows and the boys had been able to spend Arabin’s final moments with her in hospital. 

“I just held her face and talked to her while her heart slowly stopped beating.” 

As she was leaving the hospital with Arabin’s sons, the rescue helicopter was landing. She took the chance to create a special moment for the boys. 

“That was what their mum was taken to the hospital in,” she said. “We watched it land, called out to the pilot, and he let the boys stand in front of the helicopter for a photo. 

“We called that mum’s last ride,” Burrows said tearfully. 

She was incredibly appreciative of the people who tried their best to help her sister at the scene of the crash. 

“The family is so grateful to the public who stopped and also to the first responders. 

“We know that it was a horrible scene to turn up to, and I’m just so thankful that people helped.” 

Arabin was farewelled by family and friends at a funeral yesterday. 

The police investigation into the circumstances of her death continues. 

Mental health - where to get help: 

• : Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• : Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• : Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• : Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• : Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.