Tom Martinez, Facebook And A Donor: Back in June of 2011, famous quarterback coach Tom Martinez announced on his Facebook page that his complications stemming from diabetes and other ailments gave him only one month remaining to live because he needed a simultaneous heart and kidney transplant. Martinez, a very well-respected coach who has worked with many, many quarterbacks over the years, is probably most well known for working so closely with Tom Brady, the winner of three Super Bowl titles while he’s been with the New England Patriots.
In June when Martinez gave his dire prognosis for his imminent death on Facebook, it was a blow for the football world that was difficult to absorb. The football world mourned. Martinez at that time stated, “My medical test numbers say I’m basically gone. My blood pressure is too low for me to continue with dialysis, and without dialysis poisons build up in my body. Doctors say without dialysis I have a week to go. We’re looking into transplants. I would need both heart and kidney transplants done simultaneously.”
Coach Martinez retired in 2005 from coaching at the College of San Mateo, California, because of his health issues, but he still worked with quarterbacks at camps and on an individual basis. Martinez will always be one of the best coaches from the junior college ranks and is a member of the College of San Mateo’s Hall of Fame.
Facebook can do wonders. Since those announcements by Martinez back in June, he was contacted by eight people who offered Martinez a kidney. Through testing, a suitable donor was found that matched Martinez’s blood type. The heart situation seems to have been corrected through a pacemaker that was adjusted just last week. Now, it seems that Martinez just needs that kidney to keep on going.
After Martinez finishes up with the camp that he’s now visiting, he will return to UCLA for more internal tests to see if he is well enough to undergo the kidney transplant and stated that, “They might try to do a double transplant if everything works.”
This is great news for the football world, his family and those who love him. Most importantly, it’s great news for Coach Martinez. There might be a new young kid out there somewhere with a great throwing arm that needs Martinez’s guidance, and catches Martinez’s eye. Coach Martinez has never walked away from a good challenge, particularly when it comes to quarterbacking, but especially when it comes to his diabetes.