'Still a long road for my Maya moon': Tumbler Ridge survivor's mom says swelling going down

Maya Gebala, 12, one of the survivors and heroes of the Tumbler Ridge massacre, still cannot breathe on her own, but her mother says her swelling is lessening.

Maya was trying to lock the door of the library to save the kids from the shooter, but she had to leave the door and hide under a table. She was shot in the head and neck and later evacuated to the BC Children’s Hospital where she remains in critical condition.

“The swelling is going down,” her mother Cia Edmonds posted on her Facebook page late Thursday. But she recognized the road ahead will be long and hard.

“Not a huge update, swelling is going down, the doctor keeps layering on the worst news ever. And I put my foot down, I cannot hear the worst of the worst every hour..

Not when I SEE CHANGE.

There’s still such a long road for my Maya moon..

There is still a bullet in her.

There is still shards in her brains..

She still cannot breath on her own

The future is so unknown.

I love you to the moon and back my baby.

All the stars in the sky.”

Late Wednesday, Edmonds posted a video of Maya performing on an outdoor stage last summer.

“Last summer maya was invited on stage to sing this. Voice trembling with fear. Knees shaking. She gave it everything. And its never felt more true. Hold on to what we got. We’re living on a prayer……”

Prior to that Edmonds’ Facebook page features a post by Canadian women’s hockey icon, Hayley Wickenheiser .

“This has absolutely gutted me. Maya and her team came to my hockey festival WickFest in 2024. Here is an article about their team’s trip to Calgary. Pulling for you Maya and all your teammates hurting today. Maya and the other Go Fund Me are in my posts below. Please help if you can.”

The post features an image of the Tumbler Ridgelines newspaper, where the lead article is about Maya’s team’s trip to Calgary for the hocket festival

The GoFundMe page that Wickenheiser is referring to was stated by Krysta Hunt, a cousin of Maya’s mother, to help Maya and her mother.

• Tumbler Ridge shooter did not appear to target specific students, but seemed to be 'hunting', say police
• 12-year-old 'fighting for her life' was shot while protecting classmates at Tumbler Ridge high school, family says

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