Terry

After 262 days in hospital, 13-year-old Maya Gebala is finally going home. On February 10, 2026, Maya was in the library at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in northern British Columbia when an 18-year-old shooter opened fire. She was shot three times—including in the head and neck—while trying to secure the library door to protect her classmates. The attack killed eight people (six of them children) and injured dozens more. Maya was airlifted to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver in critical condition. Doctors told her family they did not expect her to survive the night. She did. Over the following months she underwent five major surgeries, including a cranioplasty in which surgeons installed a prosthetic to rebuild parts of her shattered skull. Her recovery was marked by slow, hard-won milestones: breathing on her own, opening an eye, smiling intentionally, speaking again, and eventually leaving hospital grounds for short outings. Her parents, David Gebala and Cia Edmonds, shared regular updates, documenting both the setbacks and the progress. On October 29, 2026—exactly 262 days after the shooting—she was discharged. Her father posted a video of the moment he told her she was going home; she reacted with a fist pump. In the days that followed she was recognized with a Youth Heroism Award for her actions during the attack and her determination throughout recovery. 🌹 Maya’s story is a stark reminder of both the brutality of the Tumbler Ridge shooting and the quiet, stubborn courage that carried one 13-year-old through nearly nine months of intensive care. The road ahead is still long, but she is home.