A Matter of Degrees...........

So much has happened in the last few days that it's hard to take it all in. Most of it has affected a great deal of people, and the rest has been personal. I've been keeping to myself but yesterday I decided to go outside to face things.

Last Wednesday, I had a Prostate Biopsy.

 My PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) has been high for the last two months and the potential was there that I might have prostate cancer. That potential was higher in my case due to the immuno-suppressants that I take. Instead of repeating the test, I had the biopsy done.

I know it was the right thing to do, but it was not a pleasant experience.

My daughter was to pick me up afterwards, and we'd have dinner. Instead, I had her drive me home and I went straight to bed.

It took me a few days to get over the discomfort. When I finally started to feel better it dawned on me that I'd have to wait for another week for the results.
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I grew up in The Bronx, but I've spent the important years of my life in New Jersey.

It's here that I had the American Dream - the house with a white picket fence.

It's here that I had my daughter.

OK, so I don't have that house anymore, but I am still involved with my daughter. This is my home.

Yes, this is my home, and Hurricane Sandy just hit us big time.

I've been watching the news. She decimated the Jersey Shore.

Now I have to admit that I'm not much of a beach guy, but I've been down to the Shore a couple of times and there are landmarks that I'd recognize. That is, I'd recognize if they still existed.

It's tough to accept.

But I live in Woodbridge. We're inland. And not as far south as The Shore. Sadly, we do have a waterfront - Sewaren. And we did have flooding. And we did have really heavy winds.

 We lost power about 8 o'clock Monday night but my area had it back by 5 o'clock Tuesday morning. I had my cable and internet back by about 3 o'clock Tuesday afternoon. My only problem was that I couldn't communicate immediately through my cell phone. Calls AND texts weren't going through.

Yesterday, I went out and drove around a bit. In my neighborhood, some trees were down, traffic lights were out, and some stores were closed. There were lines at gas stations and, surprisingly to me, Dunkin' Donuts. But I could get around.

I've been lucky.
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Today, I had the follow-up with the urologist for the biopsy results. I tried not to, but I did Google the whole process and I wasn't feeling confident. My daughter, God love her, volunteered to take me even though there wasn't a need.

I was worried that they wouldn't be there..that they had no power...that I would have to wait longer for an answer.

I didn't.

Long story short, the results were negative.

NEGATIVE.

YES.

My daughter and I then spent about 45 minutes trying to find a place to have breakfast.

I'm good, but New Jersey needs help.

It's all a matter of degrees.