Tom Brady told mom last year: You'll be ready for the Super Bowl

Last year, Tom Brady's mother, Galynn, began undergoing chemotherapy treatments on Thursday mornings — those, coupled with the fatigue of battling breast cancer, kept her from Patriots games. But her son knew she'd be ready for the most important one.

The quarterback who as a rookie told owner Robert Kraft that drafting him was the best decision the organization had ever made, didn't shy away from making a new proclamation: Not only would the Patriots make the big game, Galynn would be there.

"He said, 'You'll be ready for the Super Bowl,' " Tom Brady Sr. told NFL Network. "He told us that in the middle of the season. At the end of her five months was going to be two weeks before the Super Bowl."

Of course, the Patriots went on to come back and win Super Bowl LI 34-28 in overtime against the Falcons on Feb. 5. And after the game, as confetti rained down at NRG Stadium, Brady got to celebrate and hug his mom.

But Galynn's journey began when she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer during the summer of 2016. She reportedly underwent several surgeries, including two lumpectomies. In September, she began five months of chemotherapy.

"Everything centered around 10 o'clock on Thursday morning," Tom Sr. said of his wife's treatments, "and then 10 o'clock on Sunday morning when we focused on the football games."

The Bradys would usually attend multiple Patriots games throughout the season, but last year they'd watch their son on TV. Galynn said Brady was supportive from afar and they'd Facetime a lot.

"Losing my hair was hard for me, I think because hair to women are who you are," Galynn explained to NFL Network. "And I'd have my bandana on and he'd say, 'Oh mom, you look beautiful. You look so beautiful.'"

The Brady matriarch finished her last round of chemotherapy on Jan. 12, but she developed pneumonia and shingles. The day before the Bradys were scheduled to leave for Houston, Galynn's doctor cleared her to travel. She decided to put cancer aside for a weekend.

"I just wanted to be there for Tommy, and I wanted to be there with my family," she said. "Everybody was going to the Super Bowl, and I didn't want to miss that."

Later, Galynn also received a big gift from Kraft: "Tommy had come home and we were all sitting around the kitchen table and the phone rang, and it was Mr. Kraft. He said, 'Galynn, I have a little surprise for you. I wanted to give you a Super Bowl ring, because I felt that you were a great part of our Super Bowl win this year.

The Patriots play their first rematch against the Falcons Sunday night.