A 13-year-old girl who was severely injured in the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting is being released from hospital after nearly nine months of uncertain recovery, her father says.
David Gebala shared a Facebook video Thursday of his daughter Maya Gebala in a wheelchair reacting with excitement as he tells her she’ll be going home.
“It’s been 262 days since you were airlifted to B.C. Children’s Hospital,” he wrote in the post. “262 days since we were told, ‘We did everything we could, but we don’t think she’s going to make it through the night.’
“Since then, I’ve watched you fight for every single one of those days.”
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While the family has not been speaking to media, they have been sharing updates through social media posts and videos intended for the public.
In previous posts, Gebala’s mother has indicated the family will likely have to permanently relocate to Vancouver in order for Gebala to continue receiving care, though it’s not clear whether that is still the case.
Details of her injuries have been shared online and in lawsuits filed in California against tech firm OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman over their alleged roles in the deadly February mass shooting.
Gebala’s reaction after her father tells her she’ll be leaving hospital. (David Gebala/Facebook)
Documents filed by her family in court in April 2026 say Gebala was shot three times and that a bullet struck her skull and “shattered bone fragments through her brain.”
OpenAI has asked for the case to be dismissed.
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In May, Gebala’s family said she had undergone surgery for a cranioplasty, which involved installing a prosthetic barrier to quell swelling and deflation in Gebala’s head that was a symptom of her damaged skull.
It was the fifth surgery Gebala had gone through since the shooting, and in the time since, the family has shared video of her on various outings throughout Vancouver, as she is no longer confined to B.C. Children’s Hospital where she has been receiving her treatment.
Those include celebrations from her 13th birthday in September when she attended a Foo Fighters concert at B.C. Place, and enjoyed cake and games.
