Hi, I'm Stuart Paisley (Brian's son), writing on behalf of Erinne Paisley (Brian's daughter), both our mothers (Ti Hallas and Julia Menard), and for those who know and love Brian.

Brian Paisley C.M., is currently fighting for his life at La Barra Medica Center in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. On May 21, he suffered a sudden and extreme case of lung failure that is presumed to be pneumonia and quickly became life threatening.

He was admitted in a state of extreme dehydration, malnutrition, and dangerously low blood oxygen levels. He is currently stable, unconscious, and intubated, unable to breathe on his own. The situation is desperate, especially in terms of the necessary costs to keep him alive (minimum $3,190 CAD per day, plus more for additional services, such as yesterday's intubation procedure which brought the bill up to $10,000 CAD for the day).

Once he is able to be moved from the ICU, the cost for care will be lower.

Brian has no health insurance. Friends and family have covered the first 3 days of hospital bills, but we need your help.

We are asking anyone who Brian has touched with his creativity, curiosity, joie de vivre and eternal optimism, to help us with the expenses that will be incurred to save his life.

Brian birthed the very first Fringe theatre festival in North America in 1982, and has impacted the Canadian theatre and arts communities in immeasurable ways. Whether you worked in a Fringe show, or watched a Fringe show, that opportunity was because of Brian.

He has much more time left on this earth if he can overcome this acute challenge. He has the strength to do so, he just needs our help right now.

Funds raised through GoFundMe will also help with the next stage of his care and is also critical. He will likely need a 24 hr nurse and recovery room outside of the ICU for some time.

Our other hope is that my sister and I can travel to Mexico to facilitate payment processes, to ensure the quality of his care, and to be with our father to coax him back to his healthy self.

We love all of you, most of all for your prayers and good energy. Any donations will obviously go a long way in saving Brian's life and helping in his recovery. He has given so much to this world. Let's give back to him.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.