New York: The man charged in the killing of the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare reported in online writings over a period of years that he had been navigating a series of life-altering health problems.
In posts on a Reddit account, the man, Luigi Mangione, said back pain that had once been a minor issue in his life grew more extreme in 2022 after he went surfing, then grew worse again a few weeks later when he slipped on a piece of paper. He reported persistent problems, including pain when he sat down, twitching leg muscles, and numbness in his groin and bladder.
Suspect Luigi Mangione yells as he is taken into the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennyslvania.Credit: AP
He shared details that friends have corroborated, writing that he had spinal fusion surgery in July 2023. He wrote that within days he did not need pain meds and could sit, stand and walk just fine.
“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 wrote in one Reddit post. He went on to encourage others to consider such surgery, pointing to athletes who had done so. An X-ray that he posted on another social media account showed a spinal fusion.
The back pain was not his only struggle. He wrote at times about “brain fog” that had worsened during his college years, making studying more difficult. Doctors could not seem to figure out what was happening, he reported.
“It’s absolutely brutal to have such a life-halting issue,” he wrote.
He also posted on a page for people dealing with irritable bowel syndrome, saying that he had undergone some testing for the condition. He said the testing had been covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield – his only reference in the Reddit writings to insurance coverage.
After the back surgery, he returned to Hawaii, where he had previously been living, but by the spring of this year, he had ceased communications with most friends and family members. His family reached out to his friends in recent months, hoping to find him.