“The progress is so uplifting, I dread the day it plateaus…” — Maya Gebala’s mother has shared a health update on the 12-year-old, revealing a crυel reality that has left the family heartbroken in the aftermath of the Tumbler Ridge tr-ɑgedy

Maya Gebala remains in critical condition at B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, following surgery for multiple gunshot wounds

Significant brain damage to child shot in Tumbler Ridge: Mom

Maya Gebala remains in critical condition at B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, following surgery for multiple gunshot wounds

Maya Gebala, 12. is fighting for her life in a B.C. hospital. Facebook
Maya Gebala, 12. is fighting for her life in a B.C. hospital. Facebook Photo by Facebook /Facebook

Maya Gebala, the 12-year-old girl fighting for her life after the Tumbler Ridge shooting on Feb. 10, has significant damage to the left side of her brain, her mother Cia Edmonds posted in a Facebook update.

Maya was shot in the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass shooting that resulted in the deaths of nine people, including the shooter. Maya is one of the 27 people injured in the shooting. She remains in critical condition at B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, following surgery for multiple gunshot wounds.

“There’s damage to her brain stem from where the bullet exited,” Edmonds wrote. “Because of the damage and swelling surrounding it, it is hard to say how much response and deliberate function she will be able to regain, however, we are hopeful. There’s significant damage to the left side of her brain, that is where the bullet entered and exited, it tore right through.”

Progress ‘uplifting’

Edmonds says though her progress is encouraging, she fears Maya’s condition could take a turn for the worse.

“The progress is so uplifting, I dread the day it plateaus,” Edmonds writes. “She has been cleared for a feeding tube and is (thankfully) not considered to pass in the immediate future. There are still many fears. There are still risks her heart could stop … there is fluid build up in her lungs, or of course … She may just stop progressing, and this is it.

“There are a lot of positives, of course, but this recovery won’t be linear. I still sing to her. Talk to her, tell her how proud we are and that the entire world is cheering her on.”

Edmonds notes the worldwide love and support her family has received is making a major difference when Maya’s outlook was at its darkest.

“I believe that positive energy and prayer has helped her to rise above the imminent and dire initial expectations,” she writes. “We cannot stop now, we have so far to go yet.”

Please let Maya rest, family says

While Edmonds says the support for Maya is welcome, she wants well-wishers to refrain from visit her.

“Hey I have caught wind of a post that was made regarding a person wanting to fill several buses with people to come visit maya???” she wrote. “That is very unacceptable. There are other children and families with their own flavor of tragedy and the last thing they need is to feel bombarded.. Maya also needs rest.”

GoFundMe for Maya, teammate

A GoFundMe page for Maya and another for the family her teammate and her 13-year-old friend Ezekiel Schofield, who was killed in the shooting, have been set up for those who wish to donate. As of Monday afternoon, more than $420,000 has been raised for Maya.

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