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Issues Relating to the Safety of Accutane
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Michael & Caroline Bencz
My name is Michael Bencz.
I am the father of James Bencz. This
is my wife of 33 years, Caroline. James
Bencz is our son. James was born on August 7,
1971. James was a certified
firefighter, a rescue diver, an athlete, a licensed appraiser, a homeowner, and
a business owner. He was a magnetic individual. Anybody that met James fell in love with him right away.
James was always a leader in
everything he did, and most people naturally looked at him that way.
He did not believe in giving up or feeling sorry for yourself.
He was not one to point the blame if things didn't come out right, but
focused on making it right. He was witty, humorous, talented, a great sportsman,
intelligent, and highly competitive, but most of all, above all that, a
wonderful human being. James was an avid mountain-
biker, skier, snow-boarder, hiker, and camper. James competed in triathelons and
the firemen's Olympics and had several awards and medals to show for it. During his last year of High
School and first year of college, he held a job as a life-guard EMT.
He enjoyed being able to help people.
James decided when he was 19 that he wanted to be a firefighter,
graduated from the Academy with honors, and was one of three to be hired at the
Orlando Airport.
James had been at the fire
department for about 10 years before his death. He was a paramedic, and an engineer, and was the next one in
line for Lt. He was also the
fitness coordinator for the fire department at the airport.
James was extremely happy with his job at the fire department and was
excited about being able to continue his education in the field of saving lives.
James was also a scholar, and
encouraged all the younger people he met to go to school and get a good
education. He was continuously on
the honor roll at school. The
results of his good study habits showed not only in his grades, but in planning
for his future. You see, James knew
who he was and where he wanted to go in life, he had his future all planned out! James was a diver.
James had taken his love of diving and weaved a career and business
interest. He and another
firefighter friend formed a business to repair sonars of the U.S. and British
Navy submarines that came in to port. He
also had the permits to retrieve dead head logs from the Swaannee River and then
turned them in to wood flooring. James was a licensed real
estate appraiser. He had been
working for about a year at that. He
was interested in getting involved in the real estate market and buying some
property in Orlando, maybe living there himself, closer to work.
James was a homeowner.
He had a 3 bedroom house that was immaculate, inside and out.
He worked on the house and made his own improvements.
James had also just bought a new motorcycle, which only had a few miles
on it; it was the bike he always wanted and next on his list was a Porsche.
Yet, he was not frivolous in his spending.
He was practical. His
primary car was a basic stick shift pick-up truck - perfect for all his sports
and work equipment. James was not the type of
person to just sit around and do nothing, he was always doing something,
working, playing golf, basketball, working out, grooming his yard, or thinking
of what silly joke or prank he could play on you next.
He believed in the importance of quality time and when holidays or your
Birthday came along, he made sure that he spent some good one on one quality
time with you to let you know how important you were to him, and that meant a
lot! He always looked out for his
sister Kathy. She is
married and has two children. James
was always involved in her life, concerned about her well-being and her future
and wanted to do as much as he could for her.
Our family is a close one and that has never changed.
James was a wonderful Uncle to
his nephew, Brandon, who is now eleven years old. James always encouraged
Brandon to do good in school and let him know that he could do and accomplish
anything by just studying and applying himself. James was, is, the son of all
sons, and our memories of him make us the luckiest family in the universe
because he is part of us. He
touched many lives, at work, home, or at play and we thank God for giving us
such a wonderful young man to be our son. But we know that God did not
take our son away from us, Accutane did. We
wish every minute of every day that we had never heard of that drug.
It took our son, our life as we know it, and left us with huge craters in
our hearts that can never be filled in again.
In late 2001, apparently a
doctor prescribed Accutane for James.
As you can see, James had never had an acne problem.
Apparently, the diving suit he wore on dives must have irritated his skin
on his neck and back. In the days before his death,
James apparently was concerned about Accutane. He called the doctor to ask questions. We have not heard the phone call but understand there
was a message he left with the doctor that was somewhat upsetting and
concerning, regarding how he was feeling. Even
if James was calling for help, what would a doctor say that Roche has not told
them to say - there is no scientific evidence.
It can not be the drug, it must be you.
On the last day we heard from
James, February 23, 2002, he called to say he did not feel well.
He had a headache. It was nothing concerning, just that he didn't feel
well. His last words to us were :
"I don't feel too good, I'm going to try to get some sleep." Over the next few days we did
not hear from James. That was very
unusual. It was not like James to
disappear for days at a time without anyone knowing where he was.
A massive man hunt was undertaken. Eventually, James was found on
March 4, 2002. James was found at
the bottom of a lake, with a 44 lb barbell weight strapped to him.
We know from his suicide note that he had killed himself.
The note makes no sense and provides no explanation.
He had killed himself in the lake which his little sister and he had sat
at as children and skipped rocks. He
had died under circumstances so bizarre for someone like James - a diver, a
firefighter, and an athlete - with so much to live for, and so many future
plans. There was no warning.
There was nothing to look for to warn us.
James was not the person anyone
would expect to commit suicide. He
had friends and family. He had
financial and personal success. He
had plans for the future - both near and long term. The week James died, he was to leave on a skiing
trip to Austria with a few of his firefighter buddies. James had plans for his
future, and death was not in that plan. Roche always says when someone
comes forward to say that Accutane caused suicide, that the person who committed
suicide was a troubled high school child, or a child in the first year college,
or a person who was experiencing spiraling depression, or young adult with a
personal or family history of depression, or a person under any financial or
family stress. James does not fit
in Roche's explanation for these suicides. Instead, James is why something needs to be done about this
drug. You will hear (or have heard)
from families and people who say this drug saved their complexion and gave them
a better outlook on life. James
could not have had a better outlook on life, and he killed himself without
warning. How many more suicides and
deaths have to occur before someone says enough is enough.
In the end, perhaps James was
taken from us so we could sit here with you today.
To tell you what a perfect young man he was.
Believe me, he was the son you would want.
He was the neighbor you would want.
He was the rescuer you would want. Perhaps,
in his final act, he will rescue others. But,
I am afraid, not without your help.
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