“THEY TOLD US WE HAD HOURS.” — MAYA GEBALA FIGHTS FOR HER LIFE AFTER EMERGENCY BRAIN SURGERY FOLLOWING TUMBLER RIDGE TRAGEDY Inside a hospital room filled with machines and whispered prayers, 12-year-old Maya Gebala is fighting a battle no child should ever have to face. Just yesterday, she underwent emergency brain surgery after doctors discovered a severe buildup of fluid that left her family bracing for the unthinkable. Her father, David Gebala, revealed through tears that physicians warned them they might have only hours left with their daughter — a sentence that shattered the fragile hope they had been clinging to since the shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School. In the chaos of that day, witnesses say Maya tried to lock the library doors to shield her classmates from the gunman, an act of instinctive courage that has since defined her as a hero in a grieving community. Now, as surgeons work to stabilize her and loved ones keep vigil at her bedside, the image of that brave moment lingers — a young girl choosing protection over fear, even as her own life hung in the balance.
Tumbler Ridge survivor update: Maya Gebala undergoes emergency surgery
The news came hours after family revealed Maya had opened one eye and was showing signs of movement
Maya Gebala remains in intensive care in a Vancouver hospital. Photo by David Gebala /Facebook
Tumbler Ridge shooting survivor Maya Gebala had successful emergency surgery on Saturday night to relieve a buildup of fluid on her brain, her family said on social media.
Her mother, Cia Edmonds, said Maya was suffering from hydrocephalus, which is when an excess of fluid increases the size of the ventricles, putting pressure on the brain.
“Please keep her in your thoughts,” Cia Edmonds wrote after Maya’s surgery began. “I believe it’s helped her this far.”
Early Sunday morning, Maya’s dad, David Gebala, said the surgery was a success:
“Our brave little warrior has come through her emergency surgery,” he wrote on Facebook. “After what felt like the longest hour of our lives, the surgeon came to tell us it was successful. They’ve placed a drain on her right side, and she’s holding on strong just another hurdle she’s facing with so much strength. We love you endlessly.”
News of the surgery came hours after family revealed Maya had opened one eye and was showing signs of movement.
In the video shared on Facebook earlier on Saturday, Maya in seen her hospital bed with one eye open, while the other remains taped closed.
“Such exciting news,” Krysta Hunt, who is the cousin of Maya’s mom, Cia Edmonds, wrote in the video caption. “Maya has opened her right eye and is responding. She is moving her hand and leg on her right side. This is amazing progress.”
Hunt also thanked everyone “near and far” who has sent prayers, love, food, flowers and donations.
Maya, 12, has been in intensive care at a Vancouver hospital since she was shot in the head during the Feb. 10 mass shooting. Her family was told Maya was trying to lock the shooter out of the library at the time to save her classmates.
Eight people were killed during the shooting, including five students and one teacher at Tumbler Ridge Secondary, and the shooter’s mother and stepbrother at the family home.
Maya was one of two survivors flown to a hospital in Vancouver after the shooting. The other, Paige Hoekstra, was released on Feb. 16 to return to Tumbler Ridge to continue her recovery.
Maya’s family has been keeping the community updated through social media posts and on her GoFundMe page.