Offers pour in to replace stolen tools

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ROUND ROCK, Texas, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- A Texas man said he was "overwhelmed" with more than 100 offers of help after his tools were stolen while he was with his dying wife at a hospital.

Interior-exterior remodeler Steve Cartelli, 62, of Round Rock, said his air compressor, nail guns, chain saw and other items were taken from his pickup truck while it was parked in the parking lot of University Medical Center Brackenridge, where his wife is dying of ovarian cancer, Jan. 18 or 19, The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman reported Tuesday.

Cartelli, whose wife was transferred to hospice care Saturday, said he did not know how he would replace the tools, some of which were worth $700-$900 each, until more than a hundred offers of money and tools started pouring in from the public.

"I am overwhelmed," Cartelli said Monday. "The compassion from everybody who's called and the prayers are amazing. I'll probably have enough tools to open a wood shop. I'm not kidding."

Cartelli said his wife, Dee Dee, held a birthday party for two grandchildren in her room Sunday and then watched the Super Bowl with her husband. Cartelli said Dee Dee was pleased with the game's outcome.

"She wanted to see [retiring Ravens linebacker] Ray Lewis go out with a big new ring," Cartelli said.