Luigi Mangione, the recently charged suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had multiple health issues that he discussed online, numerous sources are reporting.
The New York Times reports that, in posts on a Reddit account (which has since been deleted), the 26-year-old said the back pain that had once been a minor issue in his life grew worse in 2022 after he went surfing, then even worse a few weeks later after he slipped on a piece of paper. He referred to feeling pain when he sat down, twitching leg muscles, and numbness in his groin and bladder.
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However, the Times reports, after a spinal fusion surgery in July of 2023, he wrote that he didn’t need pain medication and could easily sit, stand and walk.
“The surgery wasn’t nearly as scary as I made it out to be in my head, and I knew it was the right decision within a week,” he said, according to one Reddit post. An image posted to a social media account linked to Mangione showed what appeared to be an X-ray of a metal rod and multiple screws inserted into someone’s lower spine.
But back pain was not his only struggle. He also wrote about “brain fog” that had gotten worse during his college years, making studying more difficult.
Doctors couldn’t figure it out, he said, adding: “It’s absolutely brutal to have such a life-halting issue.”
The Times also noted that Mangione posted on a Reddit page for people dealing with irritable bowel syndrome, saying he had undergone some testing for the condition, and that it had been covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield — apparently his only reference in the Reddit writings to insurance coverage.
However, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by the Associated Press, Mangione wrote that the U.S. has the most expensive healthcare system in the world and that the profits of major corporations continue to rise while “our life expectancy” does not.
He appeared to view the targeted killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO as a symbolic takedown, the bulletin said.
Meanwhile, a friend of Mangione’s, R.J. Martin, told the Times that Mangione had moved to Hawaii in 2021 in a bid to get as healthy as possible in advance of the spinal operation.
Martin told CNN that Mangione had ended up “in bed for about a week” with back pain after a surfing lesson, and also that he had once sent Martin a photo of an X-ray of his back, which Martin said “looked heinous, with just giant screws going into his spine.”
Britain’s Independent newspaper has also reported that Mangione’s Goodreads account (which has also since been taken down) showed five books involving chronic back pain on his reading list including Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting on the Road to Recovery, and Why We Get Sick: The Hidden Epidemic at the Root of Most Chronic Disease ― and How to Fight It.
The list also included numerous books related to alternative medicine and psychedelics, and linked to a handwritten note detailing his workout routine and stating that he was suffering from spondylolisthesis, CNN reported.
Spondylolisthesis is a condition that causes vertebra to slip or shift forward onto the vertebra below. It often occurs in the lower back and can involve “significant pain” and “nerve injury” and require surgery to relieve symptoms, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Sources say that after the back surgery, Mangione returned to Hawaii, but by last spring he had ceased communications with most friends and family members.
The Associated Press also reports that an X account linked to Mangione includes recent posts about the negative impact of smartphones on children; healthy eating and exercise habits; psychological theories; and a quote from Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti about the dangers of becoming “well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
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