One of Tom Brady's closest mentors, Tom Martinez, is in his last days.
Martinez has suffered from diabetes for years, and doctors told him he's got a week to a month to live due to recent complications from the disease, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
Brady and Martinez have known each other for more than two decades, and Martinez has effectively worked as Brady's private quarterback coach in California. The pair were together as recently as last Sunday.
Linda Martinez, Tom's daughter, relayed a message from her father on Facebook, according to the Mercury News.
"We have received some bad news that I wanted to share with all of you," the statement read. "I have been given a week to a month to live, depending on my body's response to medication. I want to thank you for the relationship that we shared and the friendships that allowed me to have a very successful career. As much as I would like to talk to you each in person, that is not feasible so please respect my family's need for some privacy now. If the number of lives that I've been involved with are in the thousands, then it isn't possible to talk to each and every one of you. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to teach and coach you all and I ask that you take one or two of my life lessons and pass them on to your family and friends and that will keep me alive forever. With much love and appreciation, I wish all of you a very successful and fulfilled life. TM."
Martinez told the newspaper he feels physically strong, but his blood pressure is too low for him to continue dialysis. He is looking into transplants, but he would need heart and kidney transplants simultaneously.
"This will be such a loss to so many kids on the Peninsula, not to have him be there as a mentor,'' Tom Brady Sr. told the Mercury News. "In our family, he helped all three of our daughters and our son as recently as last Sunday. He had just got out of the hospital Saturday, but on Sunday he was sitting in his chair directing what was to be done. He is one of the great tacticians ever. His passing will be a major loss.''
