Please Help Eric Farris Breathe Again!

My name is Brian Chrisagis and I have spent my life in ministry. My late twin brother Shawn and I traveled the country performing gospel and praise music performing as “The Chrisagis Brothers” and gave our testimony about our Christian faith. It was our ministry work that put me in touch with Eric Farris back in 2014. Eric had a talk radio show based in Branson, MO and he invited Shawn and I to come on his show as guests. I lost my twin brother June 13, 2023 in my arms, likely due to a blood clot. My twin was half of me. We did everything together. His loss has been devastating. I know Eric and his lovely wife, Sindy, are facing major challenges ahead. I consider them to be my good friends. For this reason, I have created this fundraiser and I am asking our friends to help.

If you don’t already know him, allow me to introduce you to Eric Farris. A lifelong resident of Missouri, Eric has always had a commitment to serve his community which included being elected to Branson’s City Council. While in office, he served the community by having the vision to support the redevelopment of the downtown into a vibrant Branson Landing project. Eric is also the father of 4 (now) adult children and has been a longtime advocate of Americans for Equal Shared Parenting as a result of having his children alienated against him and his family by a vengeful ex-wife. Eric recently lost his younger brother to cancer and is now he facing a new, very serious challenge. 

Eric suffered two Pulmonary Embolisms (PEs); blood clots in the lungs. One in 2010 and a second in 2013. He survived these and was put on blood-thinning medication, but no further follow up was done. Since most blood clots formed from PEs eventually go away, the recent discovery that Eric still has blood clots in the arteries of his lungs (an extremely rare occurrence) and that those clots had formed scar tissue was devastating news.

Because of this scar tissue formation, Eric has been struggling to breathe for the past year. Currently, he cannot walk up a flight of stairs without stopping every 2 steps to rest. Even walking from one room to another in his house leaves him breathless. This would naturally take a toll on someone physically, but understandably, it has also caused Eric mental distress.

After a series of invasive tests and procedures performed at Cox South Medical Center in Springfield, MO, last year, Eric was then sent to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis for additional tests and repeated invasive procedures. Eric’s final diagnosis: a life-threatening condition called Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension or “CTEPH”). The scar tissue from the old blood clots in the arteries of his lungs causes an extremely high blood pressure making his heart work harder. If not treated, CTEPH will cause heart failure for Eric at any moment.

Eric is a man of great faith and he knew that God was holding him in the palm of His hand.  He never lost faith and God is providing the ability for him to breathe again by undergoing a rare, intense and risky 10-hour long open-heart and open-lung surgery called PTE (Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy), which, if successful, will result in his breathing better by removing the old blood clots and scar tissue to open up those blocked arteries for life-giving blood flow.

PTE involves cutting through the sternum to open the chest and attaching the patient to a heart-lung bypass machine. The body is cooled to 64 degrees. The surgeons create a blood-less surgical field, then open the blocked arteries by removing the scar tissue. The patient is placed on a ventilator once taken off the bypass machine. The body’s temperature is raised and the sternum bone is sealed with wire.

After this surgery, Eric will be in Intensive Care for up to one week, then kept in the hospital for another two weeks undergoing tests and occupational, physical and pulmonary therapy. After discharge, the therapy sessions will continue. The recovery process will take approximately 4-6 months. Eric will face activity restrictions - no lifting of the arms, no lifting more than 5 pounds, no pushing, pulling, driving or working during recovery.

PTE surgery is so unique that only 10 hospitals across the United States offer it. Eric has been accepted to University of California-San Diego Medical, the founders of this surgery. They have the most advanced program in the world for this type of operation. Eric’s surgery is scheduled for February 25, 2026. We are hopeful that the PTE surgery will give him a higher quality of life.

✈️ Why We Need Your Help:

The severity of Eric’s situation has placed an extraordinary financial burden on he and his wife. The cost involved in his recovery will be overwhelming. While the complete list of expenses isn’t yet fully known, a partial list includes the following:

✅ The travel to San Diego from Missouri and back, lodging and special accommodations 

✅ The pre-operative, surgery and hospitalization bills

✅ A full-time caretaker (Sindy) and home nurse care

✅ Physical therapy and recuperative care (post-op)

✅ Lost earnings from Eric’s employment for four to six months - 100% commission-based

✅ The cost of care for Eric and Sindy’s pets while they are out of state

Eric is a friend to many of us in this small world of ours. He and Sindy are too humble to ask for monetary donations on their own. Knowing this surgery and treatment is expensive, I'm asking for them. If you can find it in your heart to make a donation in any amount, it will go a long way to help them in what otherwise will be an extremely stressful and scary situation.

How You Can Make a Difference:

Your kindness can change everything. Here’s how you can help today:

Donate – Any amount, big or small, makes a difference

Share – Spread this campaign with your friends, family & community by sharing this page to your Social Media accounts by clicking the “Share fundraiser" button

Pray & Encourage – Your love and support would mean so much



Please Help Eric Farris Breathe Again! today with a donation - and SHARE this important message with all your friends!

Thank you for your compassion, generosity and support for Eric and his family during this extremely difficult journey.

Love,

Brian Chrisagis

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