Pete Holtus Update: 5/12/10 Good News!!! - Pete is heading home Pete is scheduled to be released from the hospital this afternoon. His family has asked for no phone calls or visitors for the time being Information will continue to be posted as it becomes available Again thank you for your support and continued prayers for Pete and his family Pete Holtus Update: 5/01/10 Pete was re-admitted to St. Joseph Hospital last night (4/30/10). The main cause of the hospitalization was fluid build-up in his abdominal area. As of this afternoon, I did not have any further information as to treatment, prognosis, etc. In talking to his daughter today, Pete’s return to the hospital was not unexpected, nor was it considered very serious. They just have to get the fluid build-up under control. Pete was in much better shape when he was re-admitted last night as compared to his re-admittance of about 4 weeks ago. He is currently in room 832 and can receive visitors. I plan on seeing Pete several times prior to our May 4, 2010, regular FRW meeting – and will give an update to everyone at that meeting. Say a prayer for Pete and his family. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer Pete Holtus Update: 4/19/10 Pete’s home ! ! ! Great news. Just talked to Pete’s wife, Judy, and Pete just arrived at home – 7:15 PM tonight. As you can imagine, things are busy for the Holtus family. So Judy requested no phone calls, no visitors – at least for the time being. As I get new information, it will appear on the FRW web site. And of course, cards and letters are very much welcome. Thanks for the support from all of you. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer Pete Holtus Update: 4/16/10 Pete still remains at St Joseph’s Hospital in room 820. We still have no idea of a release date. Please take some time to make a quick visit to see Pete. He can always use the boost. I’ll put a new update on the FRW website when significant changes occur. In the meantime, please feel free to email or call me if you have any questions concerning Pete. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer Pete Holtus Update: 4/5/10 Good News. It appears that Pete has stabilized and now is back on the road to recovery. He was moved out of ICU this afternoon, and now resides in room 820 at St. Joseph Hospital. And he is taking visitors – probably with the same conditions as before – small numbers and short visits. Doctors are still treating the infection, but things look far better this afternoon than they did this weekend. I’ll keep you posted with any major changes. And I am hoping to get the updates off the website pending normal recovery. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer Pete Holtus Update: 4/3/10 Pete was taken back to St. Joseph hospital this morning and is in ICU. He has a fairly serious infection, some oxygen transfer issues, plus other complications. I don’t know much past that, but will keep everyone informed with any new information – as best I can. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer Pete Holtus Update: 4/2/10 Pete is home ! ! Great news. Pete was discharged from the hospital yesterday and is now recovering at home. Suffice it to say that yesterday was a long and hard day for Pete and Judy. I talked to both Pete and Judy this morning. My thought would be to give Pete the weekend to recuperate from the move before contacting him. I don’t know of anything specific that any of us can do for him. If I find out anything, I will let you all know. I am asking Ron Howard to post this update on our web site until next Tuesday – the day our next meeting. At that point, all of the updates concerning Pete will be removed. If anything of consequence comes up during Pete’s recovery, I’ll let you all know. My thanks to all of you for allowing me to be the conduit for Pete. Keep saying your prayers for Pete and his family. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer Pete Holtus Update: 3/26/10 (9:00am) Pete had been scheduled for release from St. Joseph’s Hospital today, but had a slight set-back yesterday. There are still some unresolved issues with how Pete’s system is recovering from his surgery. Yesterday, he was suffering from some very severe pain. It must have been severe, as Pete normally does not complain. As a result, some of the drains, and tubes had to be re-inserted, x-rays and CT scans taken, doctors conferring, etc. So Pete will not be released until the issues are resolved. Discussions with Judy this morning indicated he probably won’t be released this weekend. The issues do not appear to be life threatening or major. Just the normal issues that go along with a major 6 hour surgery. Sorry to be so vague, but that’s what all I know. I’ll be checking in on Saturday afternoon, and will provide any new information – if there is any. Say a prayer or two for Pete and his family. I know they appreciate all of the thoughts. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer Pete Holtus Update: 3/20/10 (3:00pm) Here’s the latest on Pete: I was in to see Pete this morning and I noticed a very good step-change in his well being. He was sitting up in the chair, had his glasses on, a gleam in his eye, and a smile on his face. It was almost like “Hey, Pete’s back.” So a huge change in how he acted and looked – to me. Another milestone as well: Pete had breakfast this morning which consisted of sausage and eggs. That’s the first solid food he has had since the surgery. Next crucial step prior for release from the hospital is to get his plumbing working satisfactorily. I also talked to Judy last night for a good length of time. Yesterday the surgeon told her “I think Pete has turned the corner today”. Pretty much the same conclusion that I had reached, only the Doctor got there a little sooner than I did. Pete remains at St. Joseph’s hospital in room 732. He told me that he appreciated everyone’s thoughts and prayers – via the e-mails he had received. Thanks to everyone. They are slowly removing, one by one, the many wires, tubes, monitors, feeders, etc., that they had hooked up to Pete. And they want in up walking at least 4 times per day. And he was just getting up to do that as I left. No predicted release date, but I will keep you informed of anything I find out. If you have time, stop by and see Pete. I know he appreciates the visits. Same rules apply – small groups, short visits. Thanks everyone. I left the hospital today with a big smile on my face. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer Pete Holtus Update: 3/16/10 (5:00pm) Here's the latest update on Pete as of this afternoon. A couple of corrections to the last update: 1. Pete's consultation with the oncologists for planning a course of treatment action will not occur for about 5 or 6 weeks, to give him a chance to more fully recover from the major surgery he just went through. I had listed that he would be meeting with them in the next week. 2. And the pathology results indicated only 1 cancerous lymph node. People might have interpreted what I said earlier as the cancer appearing in more than that - so good news here. Pete continues to progress very well from the surgery. Tom Tedesco was visiting Pete this afternoon when one of the surgeons stopped by. That Doctor commented along the line of: "Pete, I know you don't feel good and are wondering if you are going to make it, but you are doing great! And your are making great recovery progress. Keep it up." So from a person who has far more experience in making comparisons, this was very encouraging news. No dates set yet on his release from the hospital. Pete's finally getting some food - in the form of clear liquids (broth, jello, etc), and much better than that - beloved "ice chips". He complained earlier in the week of being so dry. He's still at St. Joseph's in room 732 - and can see visitors. His family asked that you keep the number of people in the room at one time to 2. And keep your visits reasonable length of time. I have received a lot of emails on Pete's behalf. My thanks to all of you. I plan on giving those emails to Pete on my Thursday morning visit. So I will plead with all of you one more time. If you haven't yet sent a note to me, please do so prior to early Thursday morning. I know Pete is really going to appreciate everyone's thoughts and efforts. Please refer to the earlier updates (link below) for what I am looking for and where to send it. I'll keep you posted. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer Pete Holtus Update: 3/14/10 (7:00pm) Pete is starting to see visitors now. He remains at St Joseph’s hospital, near downtown Denver. Currently on the 7th floor, Room 732. But that could change at any time, so if you visit, check his room number when you check in with security. Judy (Pete’s wife) suggests keeping the number of visitors to 2 at a time, plus keeps your visitation relatively short. Pathology reports indicate pancreatic cancer, as well as some cancer present in lymph nodes taken at the same time. However, tissue samples from the surrounding organs appear to be normal. Treatment options have not been determined. The family will be meeting with Oncologists early this week. I’ll repeat this thought from yesterday: If you want to leave a message for Pete, I am asking that you send me an email with your message. I will print all of them, bind them, and give them to Pete late this week – while he is still in the hospital. Just a simple, short note would be great. I hope to be able to present Pete and his family with 200+ emails. I know that’s an optimistic goal – I settle for whatever I get. My email is rickorr1848@yahoo.com Encourage fellow FRW members to send a note. Encourage any others as well. Please say a prayer for Pete and his family. They will appreciate your support. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer Pete Holtus Update: 3/13/10 (Noon) After talking to Pete’s wife last night, it appears as if Pete is recovering from his Thursday surgery pretty much according to plan. The hope is to get him out of intensive care and into a regular room sometime this weekend. It doesn’t look like he will be receiving visitors until mid week at the earliest, and I will keep everyone informed. Pete is at St. Joseph’s hospital and should remain there for about 7 days. Obviously everyone is anxiously awaiting pathology reports – hopefully Monday. Check back on the website for the latest news. Any significant updates will posted there as soon as I have them. One thought that I had: If you want to leave a message for Pete, I am asking that you send me an email with your thoughts. I will print all of them, bind them, and give them to Pete late next week – while he is still in the hospital but fully awake. Just a simple, short note would be great. I hope to be able to present Pete and his family with 200+ emails. I know that’s an optimistic goal – I settle for whatever I get. My email is rickorr1848@yahoo.com. Encourage fellow FRW members to send a note. Encourage any others as well. My thoughts and prayers continue to be with Pete and his family. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer Pete Holtus Update: 03/11/10 On behalf of Pete Holtus and his family, I will be providing updates as to Pete’s health status through the FRW website. I have been asked that until you are further notified, please DO NOT CONTACT Pete and/or his family directly. I have been designated by the family as the official contact person for us wood turners. Please visit the FRW website routinely for updates as they occur. Pete was recently diagnosed with cancer. Today (Thur 3/11/10), Pete underwent a surgical procedure called a “whipple procedure”. You can Google that term to learn all you need to know about it. Suffice it to say that the 6 hour surgery today went better than expected. While we will not know the long term plan of attack until all of the pathology reports are in, the initial results look very promising. Please check back to the FRW website to get updates as to Pete’s status. Those updates will include such items as (1) when Pete can receive visitors, (2) when Pete might be discharged, and (3) when Pete will resume doing his normal Thursday night demo’s. As we all wait for further news, please join me in saying a prayer or two for Pete and his family. He and his family mean the world to me, as I know they mean to all of us. I will keep you all posted. Rick Orr FRW - Treasurer