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" An American prisoner says he was left impotent after suffering a painful six day erection. Rodney Cotton, a former inmate at a New York prison, had been taking the drug Rispardel to treat his bi-polar disorder but, as a side effect, experienced a painful erection, reports the New York Daily News. Rodney was told his case wasn&amp;#039;t an emergency and waited in his cell for the erection to go away with just painkillers and an ice pack. He said: &amp;quot;It didn&amp;#039;t go down. It hurt and it started pounding.&amp;quot; The 50-year-old said he was struggling to walk, and that he had to just wear his underwear as he was unable to put on his jeans. He added: &amp;quot;They had me walking around like that for almost a week.&amp;quot; On July 8 2011, Rodney saw a third doctor who finally sent him to hospital for surgery to treat his erection. Weeks later, Rodney&amp;#039;s stitches still hadn&amp;#039;t dissolved and had become embedded in his penis. He said they were eventually removed by a doctor, without anaesthetic. Rodney&amp;#039;s penis was left permanently damaged, and he said was no longer able to perform his &amp;quot;duties as a man&amp;quot;. &amp;quot;They took my manhood!&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s embarrassing. We&amp;#039;re here to create.&amp;quot; Rodney received a $750,000 settlement from the city on the day before the court case but he says no money can make up for the damage to his penis. He said &amp;quot;If I had the choice between the reward and having my manhood restored, I&amp;#039;d have my manhood restored in a heartbeat.&amp;quot; Rodney was in prison for minor drug offences but has spent 39 years of his life behind bars in total. He plans to use the money to move to Atlanta, where his daughter lives, and is hoping for a &amp;quot;new start&amp;quot;. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/reports/news/a37097/prisoner-compensation-six-day-erection/>