Knee brace causes financial pain   by Gary Harper  Bio | Email |
Follow: @GaryHarper3TV  Posted on October 16, 2013 at 9:58 AM
PHOENIX -- Jerry Johnson is proud of his son Ryan and enjoys
watching him play football.  "I've been playing since I was
nine," said Ryan Johnson. "I don't know what I love so much
about it, but I just love it."  But while playing the game he
loved, something happened.  "We were doing tackling drills,"
Ryan said. "And I was getting tackled. A big linebacker hit me
and my foot stayed stationary, but my knee twisted. It felt like
something had ripped."  Jerry took his son to the emergency
room, where doctors put his son in a knee brace.  "The nurse
came out with a brace and handed it to Ryan," Jerry said. "He
put it on and we left."  The ER gave Ryan a brace that wasn't
worn often because the teenager eventually underwent surgery. 
Regardless, the knee brace came with a big price tag.  "I
received a bill from a company called Hanger," Jerry said. "It
was $865.00 for a neoprene knee bra