This mum of 11 was dealing with cancer and took a bullet for son at Orlando shooting

Brenda Marquez McCool was one of the 49 victims of the mass shooting at Orlando gay club Pulse early Sunday morning.


She was a 49-year-old mother of 11, who left behind children aged between nine and 24. In addition to being described as a caring mother and friend, she was also a strong woman who had won one bout of cancer and was fighting another battle against leukemia.

She never got to finish that fight because her life was cut short.

McCool was out with her son, Isaiah. They were getting drinks at the bar when the attack began. The woman who had undergone surgery on her back as part of her brave cancer treatment was subsequently shot in the back.

"She was a modern mom. She was very updated. She tried to talk like the kids would talk," her niece, Nelia Rodriguez, told PEOPLE. "She was a cool mom. She was really down-to-earth and open-minded."

According to Rodriguez, her aunt liked to go out dancing to keep her mind off her cancer.

"They posted a video in the hours before the shooting – she was dancing. Anytime someone invited her somewhere she would just go and she would enjoy herself," Rodriguez said. "She tried to keep herself from getting upset about what she was going through with her cancer."

And McCool believed she would survive the cancer. Rodriguez explained, "She thought many times she would survive it. Her positive way is what kept her alive ... She acted like there was nothing wrong with her. She was happy all the time. She tried not to talk about it."

Except she never got the chance to try. Her wounds proved fatal, but her final moments were ones of love in a terrible tragedy. After being shot she told her son, "Just run, go."

Her son survived.

It hurts.