His family still doesn’t know what happened. Weeks after Domingos Martins was found, his loved ones are trying to put the pieces together.

How did an 83-year-old Toronto man with dementia manage to survive for five days without food and his blood pressure medication?

His family calls it a miracle he was found alive after he went missing July 28.

He was discovered outside a factory between a highway mesh fence and wood-retaining wall near Weston Rd. and the Highway 401 on-ramp — a walking distance from his daughter’s home, where Martins lives.

Jack Da Silva said his father-in-law was shirtless when police found him. Police suspect that Martins lost his shirt when he was trying to crawl in a small hole on the wall. Da Silva said police told him Martins sustained wounds after he got inside the wall and lost his balance due to the sloping surface of the pavement.

“Maggots were already starting to eat him,” Da Silva said in an interview. “He couldn’t move. He was in a fetal position (when they found him). It’s nothing short of a miracle. Somebody was watching out for him.”

Da Silva said the family has been trying to figure out what happened in the days that his father-in-law was missing.

“He hasn’t said anything about that,” Da Silva said. “My wife asked him if he drank rain water when it rained. He said yes. But, we don’t know. Slowly, we are pushing him to tell the truth.”

Martins spent a week in the intensive care unit where his condition was monitored 24/7, Da Silva said. Martins has been recovering slowly, and his health has improved — his doctors have cleared him of complications, his blood pressure has stabilized and he has started to walk.

With no food, medication or water to sustain him and the threat of changing weather conditions, Martins was fortunate to be found alive, said Dr. Sharon Cohen, medical director of the Toronto Memory Program.

“They are without food, without medication,” Cohen said. “They’re at risk of exposure to the elements and a lot of times in the winter we’ve had people succumb to freezing cold weather.

“In Toronto, it happens every year. People die, or they’re found in a snow bank. They’ve wandered off and can’t find their way home, and they’re often not very far from home.”

Cohen said cases like Martins are common, and can be fatal. She said patients slip away so quickly, not because they’re trying to escape but because they’ve become confused.

The risk is not adequately understood, even by family members, Cohen said.

“It’s a wake-up call, luckily (Martins) returned very safely, probably very dehydrated, and depending on what medications he needed for various health problems, he’s at risk to suffering worsening health conditions,” Cohen said.

The incident is preventable, Cohen said. While it’s hard to manage someone who has spotty memory, she said there are ways to prevent this kind of situation such as having them carry photo ID all the time or having door alarms installed.

Da Silva said his father-in-law has since returned home where the family is keeping a close eye on Martins, who goes by the name Branco. Nobody should go through what his family experienced during his disappearance — the sleepless nights, the guilt and the desperation they felt every day when no news came about his whereabouts, Da Silva said.

“The family would like to thank all the family, friends, neighbours, volunteers, police and the staff at Humber River hospital for their support,” he said.

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Martins’ family is hosting a charity event with Toronto police about the importance of having GPS bracelets on people suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s. He said the money raised at the event will go towards getting GPS trackers to those families.

“It is something that can be preventable,” Da Silva said. “We want to raise awareness. I think it is time that we look at this seriously because we all have parents.”

The event is scheduled for Oct. 14 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at their family restaurant, Martins Churrasqueira & Grill House, near Keele St. and Rogers Rd.