On January 12, 2019, we found out about a local teacher, Victoria Flores, age 31, battling a cancer not usually found in someone her age and typically found in elderly men. Doctors diagnosed her with bile duct cancer. It was treatable but not curable. The radiologist said it was the biggest mass he had ever seen. The third grade teacher at Brauchle elementary first thought it was a stomach bug. Just after three o’clock on May 1, 2019, Flores lost her battle with cancer. She leaves behind her husband , Hector Flores and a one year old son, Baby Mateo. Brauchle Elementary lost a beloved teacher. She said the hardest part about fighting the disease was not being with her baby. Her students can’t believe she’s gone. Doctors let Victoria go home to be comfortable before she passed. She refused pain medicine to stay up to watch Mateo for the rest of her life. God’s grace allowed her to go home and she was able to watch her son walk for the first time. This baby will never know his mother but I believe in my heart she will always be with her baby and family in spirit; mama’s never leave their babies. Cancer will affect all of our lives in one way or the other. It is important to talk to our young children about illnesses and cancer. Victoria’s death left many young children hurt and confused. It is a very uncomfortable conversation to have, especially with young children but it is important for their emotional and mental health.
In her battle there was one thing she would think of “Just not being with my little boy,” Flores said, her baby Mateo. Bound by chemotherapy, Flores missed her son’s first birthday. “It’s hard to be gone from him,” Flores said. Her family is what kept her going. “I couldn’t be more proud of my wife,” Hector said. “Seeing how my wife fight day in and day out, her message to cancer is: “you picked the wrong person,” Hector Flores said. After five weeks of chemo down. “She’s fighting for Mateo,” Danny Bruen, Victoria’s father said. “She’s fighting for Hector.” She fought with her very core to stay with her family as long as possible.
We asked her husband, “What was the last thing she told you?” “She wanted me to know that she fought, and she didn’t have to tell me that, I knew she fought,” Hector Flores said.
Her students can’t believe she’s gone. “I asked one of the kids why did they pray? And they said ‘that’s how she hears us now,’” Brauchle Elementary School teacher Ashton Braly said. Doctors let Victoria go home to be comfortable before she passed. She refused pain medicine to stay up to watch Mateo. What happened next is nothing short of a miracle. “We go home and she was able to watch her son walk for the first time,” Flores said.
Although she is gone, we celebrate her life and the lives that she impacted in the time she was here. La Prensa Texas has set up a go fund me page to help the young father. We also ask those who are reading to keep this family in prayer and donate if you can. Rest in Peace Victoria. Your memory will live on forever.