Brian Edward Martin

The Late Brian Edward Martin

Feb 27th 1962 to Sunday April 6th 2025

63 years of age

Brian was youngest of four children born to the late Robert Elmer Martin and the late Joyce Olive Briggs-Martin of Orillia Ontario Canada. Brians beloved father passed away on October 25th 2005 and his mother passed away on October 11th 2008. Then his Older brother the late Ronald George Martin passed away Jan 16th 2012. He is survived by his other older brother Robert William Martin of Barrie and his older sister Linda Joyce Travis of Thunder Bay Ontario. So only two members of this family of 6 still surviving.

Brian had pretty normal childhood up to 10 to 12 years of age and went to Harriett Todd elementary school in Orillia and lived with his parents on Lakeview Ave in Orillia with the school just around the corner on George St Orillia. However at 10 to 12 years of age Brian started to become withdrawn socially and spending time by himself and he used to stand at bottom of stairs in the old Lakeview ave house looking up as if he was looking at someone. He would not eat proper meals and appeared to be almost trying to commit suicide by starvation and the family dog, a shepard/lab mix knew more of Brians problems than anyone!!!

This went on for several years and then finally at age of approx.. 15 to 16 years of age Brian was unofficially diagnosed by then family doctor, Dr. JCS Dawson, of Orillia as having little bit of Schizophrenia. His parents got him into see then great psychiatrist Dr Alastair Finlayson of Orillia Who formally diagnosed him with Schizophrenia and prescribed the medications of the time that were not great and riddled with side effects and had to take other medication like Cogentin to counteract the Parkinson like side effects of the schizophrenia med Thorazine. The mental illness stigma that is still sadly present today was really bad in 70s and 80s and even 90s and needs to stop. As with most if not all persons diagnosed with Schizophrenia, Brian refused to take his medications most of time and so was basically unmedicated most of his life for this satans Brain disease!!

Brian was lucky to have parents that loved him and had their own house paid for and he stayed with them most of his life and was in and out of then Mental Health centre in Penetanguishene , Ontario now known as roman catholic run dump Waypoint. He had one time in that dump now in 2010 after our mother passed away that ignored my P of A I had for Brian and just did things and put nonsense on his chart that was not true.

In approx.. 1992 when our mother required major open heart surgery and was not able to look after Brian full time anymore he was independent enough to get supportive housing place where he had one bedroom apartment at 98 Nottawasaga st W In Orillia that was run by Orillia Hospital social worker Mr. Jim Whylie and Registered Nurse Kim Grice. They called it The Human Foundation just basically so could be used as tax write off I feel. Brian did not bad for several years in this apartment but in late 90s started to deteriorate and our mother was doing more than he was. His brother Robert who had just lost his nursing job at St Michaels hospital in Toronto in 1998 returned to Orillia and resided with parents and was to be temporary but turned permanent when Robert and Joyce started to deteriorate too and so Robert started for several years caring for Brian and his parents Robert and Joyce and kept them in their house and Brian in that Nottawasaga St apt. Then when Robert Elmer passed away in Oct 2005 it sadly made sense for Joyce Olive to sell the house she had with her husband for over 50 years and so 13 Lakeview Ave which was owned by Briggs and Martin for over 50 years was sold and Brian remained in the Nottawasaga st apt with brother Robert now looking after him and their mother. After Brians Mother passed away in October 2008 Brian deteriorated even more and could not stay in the Nottawasaga St apt. anymore but thankfully Robert had got Brian to do a Power of Attorney in 2006 when he still had some mental capacity to do so with then great Orillia Attorney The late Milton Zwicker with Robert William as main P of A and older brother Ronald George as back up who of course died young in Jan 2012. This was so helpful as Brian deteriorated mentally from this schizophrenia.

After Brian was almost turned against his beloved brother Robert W in 2010 by two staff at that waypoint roman catholic run dump in Penetang there was great people in the ACTT team of Orillia who helped Robert W get Brian out of poor group home in Lafontaine where he was forced into by that waypoint dump 2 Nurses and into great group home back in Orillia run by Ms. Carolynn Stephens who is an angel. Carolynn and her husband then bought the old Circle K ranch up by Washago and Brian started to do well again but after two broken bones from normal falls was diagnosed with osteoporosis. Ms. Stephens did hurt herself trying to run this group home on her own and her family and in 2014 had to stop and all residents had to move. Again thanks to ACTT of Orillia they found another great home for Brian in Gravenhurst , 1490 Muskoka Road North run by two more angels, Ryan and Beverley Steele and he went there in 2014 and did well for 9 years.

Then in around 2022 the home doctor , Dr Richardson , of Gravenhurst found Brian had a heart murmur and beginnings of a family genetic defect; a thoracic aortic aneurysm. We put off doing any thing about it and monitored it but in Jan 2023 it was at point of rupturing and possibly killing Brian and he also had severely leaking aortic valve as well. Robert W fought to have Brian looked at by same great cardiac surgeon that repaired his thoracic aortic aneurysm, Dr. Kevin Teoh, of Southlake regional health centre Newmarket and consented to have Dr. Teoh do this major open heart surgery Brian needed.

Sadly surgery did not go well and there was major intraoperative complication for Brian; a major stroke that affected multiple areas of the brain and left Brian with right arm paralyzed but no other paralysis surprisingly. Brian still was able to get up and walk all over as he loved to do. Brian was a walker. He walked miles at a time.

After being in Southlake hospital from Jan 16th 2023 to May 2023 finally got him to Bracebridge hospital for rehab and hopefully return to Gravenhurst home run by Ryan Steele. Unfortunately after everything that happened with Brian medically we found Brian could not return to Muskoka North residential home as hoped as they just did not have staffing to care for him now that he needed more care. So Ms. Julia Henderson of Bracebridge hospital got him on wait list for the LOFT group homes that cared for people over 60 with mental illness and mental disease. Was on this wait list for a year or more and when they finally did reassessment they found Brian required too much care for their homes and so Brian had to go on wait list for long term care home.

While waiting for long term care home Brian had another issue that made him immobile and confined to bed or chair and unable to walk like he did so much of and was diagnosed with blood sepsis by Dr. Gleeson of Bracebridge hospital which turned out to be from severely infected teeth that came from inability to brush his teeth all his life due to unmedicated Schizophrenia. Dr Gleeson was amazing and managed to get him made priority on wait list for the Sunnybrook hospital dental surgeons. This major oral surgery where 8 of these severely infected teeth were to be extracted should have happened July 2024 but due to idiotic practices for consent practiced by this sunnybrook hosp in Toronto could not get this important needed major oral surgery till Aug 12th 2024 and missed bed opening at Oak Terrace long term care home in Orillia. Did get those severely infected teeth extracted but the blood sepsis had done its damage and he never was able to walk again and ended up being bed ridden or up in wheelchair with assist of two nurses.

He finally got another bed opening at Oak Terrace long term care home in Orillia in October 2024 and settled in there quite well eventually and appeared to be ok.

Then week of March 31st 2025 the home had outbreak of Influenza A and Brian got this and due to his weakened immune system from so much infection was not able to recover with typical over the counter meds and ended up with extremely high fever and home sent him to Orillia Soldiers Memorial hospital on April 1st 2025. He appeared to be getting better with the IV antibiotics and O2 therapy but then took turn for the worse on Sunday April 6th and Robert W got call from a Dr. Tillman at 9:20 pm on Sunday and told Brian may not make it through the night and Robert W reminded Doctor Brian was now DNR and no heroic measures as he been through enough and he abided by that direction. However Brians I feel so weakened immune system from blood sepsis , flu, pneumonia and more could not last any longer and Brian did pass away from heart failure at 9:50 Pm Sunday April 6th 2025.

He will be cremated by Mundell funeral home in Orillia and for now Robert W will keep ashes with him till proper internment can be arranged.

The Late Brian Edward Martin was extremely intelligent person that never had his abilities realized or recognized due to the brain disease Schizophrenia and actually was much more better in Mathematics than persons with no mental disease or illness and this was verified by woman that went to high school with Brian.

So now no need for him to worry about hallucinations, hearing voices, or being paranoid of toilet or anything and may his tortured soul now rest in peace by side of his beloved creator God almightly and his savior Jesus Christ along with his beloved parents and older brother.

Hope you are at peace now my brother and may your soul rest in peace. You will be missed immensely!!!