Sorry to hear. We may never know the full story. Best wishes to Caleb. Never want to hit someone when he/she is down.
You may have taken this a bit too far, thus the negative feedback. But your point remains. Caleb may be dealing with his back pain issues in a less than positive way. One has to go thru chronic back pain, or a significant back pain situation to understand.
He is not going to need lumbar fusion. That is reserved for older, worn out backs. Is he having an ongoing back pain issue? Back pain was an issue, for sure, to start. Ongoing pain, I don't know. No one in the know has said anything regarding that.
Your last statement, referencing the Alabama situation, really doesn't apply, but I can understand the comment. You should have left that out.
Overall, your post has some relevance.