A devoted dad with suspected coronavirus died after his partner found him on his hands and knees gasping for air.
Dom Merrix's family saw him alive for the last time when he was lifted into an ambulance, however he died before he reached the hospital.
He appeared to be improving after two weeks of battling symptoms consistent with Covid-19 - and was apparently 'absolutely fine' on the morning of his death on Thursday.
However, the 'fit and healthy' 48-year-old suffered a rapid decline and was left struggling to breathe at home.
Paramedics arrived after he begged his 44-year-old partner of 11 years, Sarah Merrix and their 10-year-old daughter Ellie-Mai for help.
Tragically, he suffered a heart attack while in the ambulance and despite valiant efforts by medics, he died before reaching Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire.
Mr Merrix had been self-isolating downstairs at his family home in Portsmouth with suspected but undiagnosed Covid-19 when he fell ill.
Family friend Rachel Hibbert, 37, said on the morning of his death he appeared 'normal', even showing his support for the NHS on social media.
Mrs Hibbert, from Portsmouth, said: "He got up as normal and wanted to have a shower. He sounded absolutely fine. Then bang out of nowhere it happened.
"He texted his daughter to open the windows because he was struggling to breathe. He then texted Sarah begging for help.
"Sarah came downstairs and found him on his hands and knees struggling to breathe. When the paramedics arrived they put him on the trolley and asked him to lean back but he couldn't do it.
"That was it. Then the doors to the ambulance shut. They didn't see him alive again.
"His heart stopped and the paramedics spent 20 minutes outside the house trying to get it started again. By the time he got to hospital they couldn't bring him back."
She added: "His little girl Ellie-Mai saw it all happen. She was watching from the window."
In a crushing double-blow for the family, the tragedy came just weeks after Mr Merrix was made redundant from energy firm SSE where he'd worked for 15 years.
Mrs Hibbert also urged people to stay at home. She said: "People think it isn't going to happen to them because they're fit and young.
"Dom was fit and young and it killed him. It's torn his family apart and left them devastated.
"This virus is taking the lives of young, fit, healthy people - not just those with underlying health conditions...It puts the fear of God in me that Dom can just drop like that."
Mrs Hibbert launched a fundraising appeal to help his grieving loved ones pay for his funeral and it has since attracted more than £6,000 in donations.
Mr Merrix, a Portsmouth Football Club season ticket holder, is having a bespoke blue Pompey casket made.
Pompey's chief executive, Mark Catlin, said: "I was shocked to hear of the passing of Dom Merrix last week. Like many Pompey fans, I knew Dom had contracted Covid-19, but thought he had made a full recovery.
"Both personally - and on behalf of my family and the club - my sincere thoughts and condolences go out to Sarah and Ellie-Mai. Sadly, too many families have lost loved ones over recent weeks."
To support the fundraising appeal, click here.
