The parents of a “kind and compassionate” man who died following a severe asthma attack are raising awareness of the condition.

Dad-of-two Gary Bush, who grew up in Cliffe with his parents Karen and Robert, was diagnosed with asthma when he was three.

On Monday, July 1, 2019, the 35-year-old put his daughters Lilly-May and Poppy to bed at their home in Snodland while his wife Jess had been held back late at work.

His mum Karen said: “We think he may have fallen asleep with them when he was reading to them.

“But he’d woken up and gone downstairs because he knew he was having an asthma attack. He never liked to make a fuss.

“He phoned 999 himself and opened the front door.”

Karen and Robert made their way to Gary’s home, as well as his brother Liam.

She explained: “Jess phoned when we were driving to tell us he’d stopped breathing.

“By the time we got there there were three ambulances and paramedics stopped in the middle of the road.

“We ran around to the home and Liam went in. He came out and told us not to go in because they were working on him.

“We were all standing outside for what seemed like absolutely ages but then we got told he’d started breathing again.

“At that point we thought everything was going to be alright.”

Gary, who was a keen fisherman, had previously suffered with bad asthma attacks.

He was taken to Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham in an ambulance and was ventilated before being taken to the intensive care unit.

Robert explained: “We just hoped everything was going to be alright and that he was going to pull through.

“It wasn’t until the Thursday that they told us that he was basically brain dead and there wasn’t anything they could do.”

Gary, who was a builder and carpenter with his own business, had decided prior to his death that he wanted to be an organ donor.

Karen explained: “At first I didn’t want them to touch him but then I stopped and thought about it.

“If Gary had been laying there and somebody came in and said ‘if I give him a new brain he would be alright’ I would accept it because I’d want him back.

“So I knew I had to let it happen. We had a conversation with the whole family to discuss it and we all agreed.”

Robert added: “Gary’s passing was traumatic for us but his donations have helped lots of other people which makes us proud.

“We did have one letter from a man saying the organ donation had transformed and saved his life.”

Gary was pronounced dead on July 4, 2019.

His parents described him as a “very kind, caring and compassionate” man.

They have also expressed their gratitude for the “absolutely brilliant” intensive care unit at the hospital.

Following his death, Gary’s family set up the Gary Bush Foundation in his memory.

Karen explained: “The whole family help. We do things like coffee mornings, sponsored runs, fairs and quizzes to raise money.

“Now that his daughters are a little bit older, Lilly-May is 11 and Poppy is eight, they’re keen on helping too.”

Every year on January 16, Gary’s birthday, the family gets together for a meal to decide where to donate the funds they raised the previous year.

The trust recently donated £1,500 to Medway Asthma Self Help (MASH).

It provides information and support to those who need it and works with GPs and hospitals to raise awareness and knowledge of asthma in the community.

Karen said: “If I’d have known the charity existed I would have taken Gary there a long time before as a child.

“I just didn’t dream that in this day and age you could die from asthma, with all the research and everything I just didn’t think it could happen.

“We just want to raise awareness, that’s our main aim. If we can help anybody I know Gary would have wanted us to.”

Today (May 7) is World Asthma Day, which aims to raise awareness of the condition worldwide.

Trustee and treasurer at MASH Clive Johnson said: “We continue to be saddened by the death of Gary Bush.

“However, the hard work by his family to gain something positive from their tragedy is inspiring.

“We thank The Gary Bush Foundation very much for this generous donation which will help us to continue the work we have been doing since 1996 to raise awareness of asthma and to help people whose lives are impacted by this condition.”