General Discussion

Those close to him said he dealt with debilitating back pain. It required surgery that one friend described as “heinous” because of the “giant screws” it required.

That surgery came earlier this year, his former roommate in Hawaii, R.J. Martin, told CNN on Monday night. Martin said he saw the X-rays but hadn’t spoken to Mangione since; he had been “radio silent” over the summer, he told Honolulu Civil Beat.

Martin said Mangione had suffered lingering back issues for years. The issue was so bad, he recalled, that Mangione once became bedridden for a week after a basic surfing lesson—an apparent setback for a young man who was clearly proud of his toned physique and who had once told Martin he was “hoping to get stronger in Hawaii.”

“It was really traumatic and difficult,” Martin said. “You know, when you’re in your early twenties and you can’t, you know, do some basic things, it can be really, really difficult.”