Life goes on (in which you get to see Cliff's scars)

Cliff is doing a little better every day, but it's slow going.  Today he drove for the first time in three weeks:  we went to close out the safety deposit box, since the local branch of our bank is closing, and got a new box in Lexington.  I returned a long overdue book to the library, and we went shopping for a few things.  OK, I shopped.  Cliff napped in the car.    
Saturday his St. Louis sister and her husband were here.  She mowed the yard and her husband did some maintenance on the Mahindra tractor we are babysitting for him, with Cliff overseeing his work.  Next-door sister's son did a lot of weed-eating, so our yard looks terrific.  This does wonders for Cliff's outlook on life.  
We've sold the Gold Wing; this is something we had already decided to do even before Cliff got sick, but that certainly sealed the deal.  Yes, it's hard to see it go, but we're not getting any younger. This time I truly believe the time has come.  
We also sold our bull, since none of my animals will be needing the services of a bull before December.  We evidently priced him too low, since we got a lot of calls, and sold him to the first person who looked at him.  Still, we used him on three cows and got considerably more money than we paid for him.  
Now, are you ready to look at Cliff's tubes and scars?  I did my best to keep it decent, although if you look really hard, you can see the top edge of his tighty-whities.  

Both tubes exit on his right side.  That fancy-looking top one comes through a hole between two ribs.  They had hoped to be able to go underneath his ribs, but since his liver doesn't come down as far as it's supposed to, they had to do it this way.  That one causes him considerable discomfort, as you might imagine.  The staples were removed from his surgical wound last week.     

Cliff eats a good-sized breakfast and dinner (lunch), but he usually has a nutritional supplement for supper.  For some reason he just isn't hungry at night.  We've found he likes the Walmart Equate brand much better than Ensure.  When we are trying to keep his weight down, bread is limited, but for now he gets all the bread he wants.  So he has toast with his cream of wheat, bread with his spaghetti, and every once in a while a peanut butter sandwich.  In fact, he can have pretty much any food he desires, because I'm so happy to see him able to eat!  I told him he had better enjoy it while he can.  
We visit our family doctor Wednesday.  Next Monday, if the CT scan gives us a good picture with no extra fluids hanging around Cliff's liver, he gets the tubes pulled.  In July, the stents will be removed from his bile duct.  We hope that ends this nightmare.  
I do want to thank all who have prayed and sent positive thoughts our way.  Cliff appreciates your good thoughts, and has enjoyed the cards he's received, one of which came from a New Jersey follower of my blog, as well as several from his cousin, Edna.