On the afternoon of Feb. 12, Francisco Molina was riding the subway in Toronto when without provocation, a man pulled out an ice pick and started stabbing him.

“I don’t remember anything,” Molina told CTV’s Peter Akman. “The only thing that I remember was I was passing away.”

One of the blows in the horrific and random attack even saw the ice pick thrust up Molina’s nose, damaging his left eye and penetrating his brain.

“Everything was getting dark,” the 60-year-old recalled. “And suddenly I saw this face full of light.”

That face belonged to Noora Sagarwala, a total stranger who has been heralded as a Good Samaritan for rushing to Molina’s aid as others looked on.

“I could feel his heart beating in his neck,” Sagarwala, who has become close friends with Molina, told CTV News. “And he was like, ‘I’m dying, I’m dying.’ And I was just like, ‘No Francisco, you’re not dying. I can feel your heart beating. You just have to hang in there.’"

Miraculously, Molina survived. He spent a week in hospital, but six weeks after the vicious attack, he is still suffering.

Molina says he experiences debilitating headaches, confusion, memory loss and insomnia. He says he’s only able to sleep for ten to fifteen minutes at a time.

“When I fall asleep I have nightmares,” he explained. “It’s about somebody else getting harmed. I see a lot of blood.”

Molina, moreover, still hasn’t fully regained his vision and he says he can’t stand or walk for long periods of time. He also says he hasn’t been able to see a doctor since being released from hospital, nor has he been able to get appointments for physiotherapy or homecare support. He will, however, see a neurologist next week.

“The only thing that they told me is if something was noticed, like blood was coming from my ears or my nose… I have to go right away to the E.R.,” he said.

On top of Molina’s medical woes, he’s also running out of money. For seven years he worked helping seniors and newly landed immigrants, but was laid off just three days after the attack when his employer suffered a major funding cut. Now unable to work, he’s applied for employment insurance. A longtime community volunteer, Molina has also worked with young offenders and the homeless, saying, “I really enjoy helping others to achieve their potential.”

To help Molina piece his life back together as he recovers, Sagarwala recently started an online crowdfunding campaign. So far, with the help of more than 160 people, it has raised nearly $10,000.

"Who knows how long the recovery period really will be,” Sagarwala said. “But I think it’s just buying him some time to get back on his feet."

Molina reluctantly admits that he can’t do it alone.

“I need their help in this time,” he said. “I never thought… (I would) be in this situation.”

The suspect, who was arrested as he tried to flee the scene, remains in custody. Twenty-seven-year-old Thomas Sommerville of Toronto has been charged with aggravated assault, possession of weapon for a dangerous purpose and carrying a concealed weapon.

None of the charges have been proven in court.

“I don’t hate the person who did it because I believe he has mental problems,” Molina said. “The only thing that I hope is he gets all help he deserves so nobody else can go through the same suffering that I am going through.”

With a report from CTV’s Peter Akman in Toronto