The parents of a man struck down by a serious brain inflammation overseas without insurance have been given charity status to help raise the hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for his treatment.Dandre Outerbridge, 27, who is in the intensive care unit of the Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach, faces months of expensive treatment after he was hit by viral encephalitis last month while on holiday.His parents, Jeanna Scott and Andre Woods, who are with him in Florida, only found out he did not have overseas coverage on his Argus Insurance plan after they arrived at the hospital.Ms Scott said yesterday: “He opens his eyes periodically and responds to the doctor’s commands. He smiled Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.”She posted on social media on Christmas Eve: “Got the best Christmas ever! My son opened his eyes, looked around, gave my husband a fist grip and smiled at everyone! Thank you! Only God!”But his mother said the slow process of recovery meant his parents were “facing having to be here for three to six months as well”.Ms Scott added: “He will need that support, because he doesn’t know anybody.”Mr Outerbridge’s medical costs topped $300,000 this month and continue to rise.Ms Scott said: “That figure isn’t including physician costs — that’s simply the hospital alone. What we do know is that every day our son sits in the ICU, it’s $1,500.Ms Scott added: “His ventilator is $1,000 a day. A spinal tap costs $9,000.”An appeal on GoFundMe, accessible here, had neared $27,000 yesterday. The family earlier said they would struggle to meet the medical bill because, even after Mr Outerbridge gets through the critical stage of the disease, he will need extensive rehabilitation.Ms Scott said last week: “They have told us to brace ourselves for anything from three to six months.”Mr Outerbridge, who works at electrical firm Corcon and lives in Hamilton Parish, first opened his eyes earlier this month after three weeks in intensive care.He became ill in Bermuda and went to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital on November 18 after he complained of stomach cramps and needed help to get into the building.He was diagnosed with a stomach virus, prescribed medication designed to treat vomiting and discharged. He left for Miami five days later on the Saturday flight after he told his mother he “was feeling OK”. Ms Scott said: “We were a little concerned because of the way he was talking. On Sunday, he was incoherent.”The disease can be caused by a range of viruses and how Mr Outerbridge contracted it is unclear.