CHEMO BRAIN IS BACK

I am getting good at recognizing these different stages of chemo withdrawal.  This past weekend and yesterday were the "QUEASY" days.  I have actually gotten Ger to take his nausea pill BEFORE he feels sick. That only took us 6 months to figure out!
Then there are the waffles that I made for him using BOOST instead of water.  That way he gets his protein without eating protein. Sneaky but effective!

Today though is a chemo brain day. Ger has lost all ability to think . . . . He can not process anything except Fox news. And even that is a problem. (I have a problem with that on my best days!) Trying to talk with the man today is like talking to a dyslexic guppy. Anything I say to the man is met with a totally BLANK stare. I wait to see if the words are penetrating his brain in any way, shape or form. When I get nothing I repeat myself and wait yet again. After that I just say, "Oh, never mind." and walk away. There really isn't anything short of yelling, "FIRE!" that needs to get into his brain when he is like this.  On chemo brain days I just put food and drink in front of him and let him take it from there. Much more than that is beyond him.  I wanted to go to lunch with Jeanne and Frank, who by the way are STILL in Florida, thanks to the snow storm up North. I asked Ger if he would like to go out to eat. BLANK . . .   I asked Ger if he would like to eat with Jeanne and Frank. BLANK . . .   I finally just told him to put his shorts on because we were going out. That worked well.  It's the questions that Ger just can't handle.  That and standing up.  The chemo makes him very weak and woozy.  Yesterday he was sitting on the toilet and got up too fast and stumbled forward falling into the towel holder. Nice scrape on his head as a result. (Scared the hell out of me!)

I joke about the poor guy but seeing him at this phase of "recovery" where he has lost nearly 30 pounds and all his hair, he looks like such an old man. This is NOT the Gerry Lawlor that we all know. Ger was always so full of life and energy, (even if the energy was focused on the recliner and Fox news). To see him shaky and unsteady is unsettling. EXCEPT . . .  I KNOW he is recovering and will make a come back over these next 6 months. At least his body will . . .   I fear his brain is shot to hell for the moment and may take a bit longer to recover. No problem there, life with Ger is much more entertaining with chemo brain!