Sports digest: Prognosis improving for Tom Brady's quarterback mentor

[okarol]

Sports digest: Prognosis improving for Tom Brady's quarterback mentor

Staff and wire reports
Posted: 06/26/2011 06:58:54 PM PDT
Updated: 06/26/2011 09:54:21 PM PDT

Tom Brady's quarterback mentor, Tom Martinez, is a candidate for kidney and heart transplants two weeks after his family used Facebook to announce the San Mateo County coaching icon had just weeks to live.
"I'm feeling better, and I'm optimistic after being almost completely certain that I was going to die," Martinez told the San Francisco Chronicle during his 33rd annual quarterback camp Saturday at Woodside High.
Martinez, who suffers from complications from diabetes, told the Bay Area News Group two weeks ago that "My numbers say I'm basically gone'' after doctors at Stanford told him his blood pressure was too low to continue with dialysis and he had weeks to live. A day earlier, his daughter, Linda Martinez Haley, issued a farewell statement from Martinez on Facebook.
Martinez told the Chronicle that the post generated an unexpected response -- offers of kidney donations and an opportunity to be seen by doctors at UCLA, where Martinez said doctors adjusted his pacemaker and a donor with his blood type was found.
"Incredible, isn't it?" Martinez told the Chronicle, adding he will return to UCLA for more tests this week. "They might try to do a double transplant if everything works."

http://www.mercurynews.com/other-sports/ci_18358561

[YLGuy]

Tom Martinez, Tom Brady’s mentor, dead at 66
By Maggie Hendricks | Shutdown Corner – 26 minutes ago



Brady and Martinez (Pro Football Talk)
Tom Martinez, the coach who mentored New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, died Tuesday after suffering a heart attack during dialysis. The man known as "The Quarterback Whisperer" was in need of a kidney transplant due to diabetes complications.
Martinez first came into Brady's life when the future MVP was just 13. He signed up for a quarterback clinic and then worked with Martinez for the rest of his career. Brady said he would never be the quarterback he is today as without Martinez's help.
"He's a great friend of mine for a very long time and taught me how to throw a football at a very young age," Brady told ABC News in January. "He's been looking for a kidney for quite a while."
Brady used his platform in the Super Bowl to encourage organ donation.
People from around the NFL immediately reacted to Martinez's passing. Brady's teammate, Julian Edelman, tweeted, "RIP coach Tom Martinez. He was such a great mentor to many in the bay area. His legacy will always live on." Brady's father told CSN New England, "There are a lot of sad people in San Mateo County tonight."
Martinez's impact was felt beyond football. He coached football, women's basketball and softball at the College of San Mateo, where he won a combined 1,100 games. He was 66 years old.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/tom-martinez-tom-brady-mentor-dead-66-033054275.html