The now 22-year-old Hamilton student and his father, Stuart, were told open back surgery at Brandon’s age could be dangerous.

The wait to see a specialist who could help decide treatment was up to a year, they were told. The best the Ontario health system could offer was prescription painkillers.

In August 2007, Stuart Taylor packed up his son and agreed to pay $28,000 in Florida for minimally invasive laser microsurgery. The treatment worked for Brandon, now a fourth-year engineering student at McMaster University.

But father and son are embroiled in a bitter battle with OHIP to have the medical costs reimbursed.

The Ontario officials who decide whether out-of-country treatment should be paid by public health insurance say the Taylors broke the rules.

OHIP says they did not apply for pre-approval as required, and that the Florida surgery does not qualify as it is considered experimental here.

“Every single person I have spoken to, except OHIP, says I did the right thing,” says Stuart Taylor, who mortgaged his house to pay.

The Taylors are not alone.