My name is Mandy Young, and I am testifying on behalf of my husband, Joe.  Joe is 32 years old. Before taking RM-4869, he had a good job as a system administrator. He's always been a good husband and provider, but he's also always been depressed. Joe tried to hide his troubles from me, but a wife knows. It was getting worse, and I worried.  Joe was offered to take part in a medical study two years ago. They were looking for healthy men to take a new medication to treat generalized anxiety disorder. I...I told him to sign up. It was the biggest mistake of my life.  This new drug—called RM-4869—seemed to work as advertised at first. Joe’s depression faded! For a while, everything was terrific. But then he began to change. He was never a big guy, but his muscles atrophied to the point where I was stronger! And although we were warned about weight gain, he was bulging in strange places: His hips, butt, and thighs. Also, he started crying over silly things, like TV commercials.  The worst part was when he told me he thought he was growing breasts. We immediately suspected the RM-4869, and he stopped taking the medication, but the doctors said the damage was done. His body would continue to feminize indefinitely. For another year, I had to watch—helpless—as my husband’s masculinity faded away.
My poor Joe! I tried my best to support him, but he became a laughing stock at his job. His boss fired him after he could no longer pass as a man.  And now? Now he works in pornography.
[Plaintiff has attached a pornographic photo]
As you can see, he’s not even technically a man anymore. His penis became smaller and smaller, and the blood flow became inadequate. The doctors were afraid it would become gangrenous, so together, we made the agonizing decision for him to undergo sex-reassignment surgery.
I miss the strong man I married, but he’s gone now because of this damn medicine, and I’ve been forced to help Joe adapt to life as a woman.
RM-4869 destroyed our marriage and our life. I’m here to ask you to please consider Joe’s suffering and award him a settlement. Joe’s a good man who didn’t deserve this. The company and the doctors should be held accountable for what they did to him and the dozens of other men who suffered from this supposedly ‘rare’ side-effect.
Thank you.