The father of Maya Gebala, the 12-year-old seriously injured during the mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., says his daughter has undergone a successful cranioplasty.
Gebala’s parents have been providing updates on their daughter via social media, and said it was her fifth surgery to date.
In a Facebook post Tuesday morning, David Gebala said that while the procedure “took a little longer than expected” the surgery was “a success” and a synthetic implant is now in place where Maya’s skull had been seriously damaged.
“We know we are not out of the woods yet,” he wrote. “There are many documented cases where cranioplasty helps restore normal brain pressures.”
In a post written before the surgery, Gebala’s mother, Cia Edmonds, said that over the past week her daughter’s head had been swelling and deflating, a symptom of her damaged skull.
“It is high hopes that this new prosthetic barrier will enforce increased pressure to minimize cerebral fluid flow,” she said.
“If all goes GREAT, it could be her last surgery.”
Gebala has been receiving treatment at B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. While Edmonds had previously indicated the family might relocate to Los Angeles for treatment, with financial support from Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White, more recent posts have indicated the family is looking for permanent housing close to the hospital in Vancouver.
While the family has not been speaking to media, more details of Gebala’s injuries have been shared in lawsuits filed in California against tech firm OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman over their alleged roles in the mass shooting.
Families of Tumbler Ridge shooting victims sue Open AI, CEO Sam Altman
Documents filed in court say Gebala was shot three times and that a bullet struck her skull and “shattered bone fragments through her brain.”
“She is awake and aware, and she recognizes her mother’s voice and face, but she cannot move her body and she cannot speak,” her lawsuit says.
“If M.G. survives, she will tragically live the rest of her life like this, with catastrophic brain injuries and permanent disabilities.”
In his post Tuesday, David Gebala said that following the surgery his daughter opened her eye and lifted her head to look around.
“Throughout the day, she continued to regain her pre-surgery spark moving her hand and leg, squeezing our fingers, and looking around with curiosity,” he wrote.
“Our sweet, innocent little girl has been through so much. It breaks my heart to watch her endure all of this, but at the same time, I’ve never been more proud of what a fighter she is.”
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