‘Bravest person I know’: Father’s pride as school shooting victim leaves hospital after 262 days
Maya Gebala Leaves Hospital After More Than Eight Months of Recovery
Healfromzero.com – Maya Gebala, the 13-year-old survivor of the February shooting at a secondary school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, has been discharged from hospital after 262 days of intensive treatment and recovery.
Her father, David Gebala, marked the moment with a message to his daughter that reflected both the scale of her injuries and the progress she has made since the attack. Maya had been taken by air to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver after being shot three times, including in the head.
“There was never a day I stopped believing we would get here. The road ahead is still long, but this is a milestone no one thought we would reach.”
David Gebala called Maya “the bravest person I know” and shared a video showing her smiling while seated in a wheelchair. Her departure from hospital does not signal the end of her medical needs, but it represents a major step for a family that was initially told she might not survive her first night after surgery.
A Long Series of Medical Milestones
Maya was in the school library when the violence unfolded on February 10. The attack in the small northern British Columbia mining community killed eight people, including six children, and wounded more than two dozen others. It became the deadliest school shooting in Canada in decades.
The gunshot wounds caused devastating injuries, including damage to Maya’s skull and catastrophic brain injuries. Over the following months, she underwent five surgeries. One procedure involved the placement of a prosthetic skull, a significant point in her recovery.
Her father’s message traced several moments that stood out during the 262 days she spent in hospital. He recalled the day Maya opened one eye, moved it and shifted her leg, only to require emergency surgery later that morning.
“251 days ago, you opened your eye, moved it, and shifted your leg only to be rushed back for emergency surgery that morning.”
He described the prosthetic skull procedure as her fifth operation and a turning point after earlier complications.
“179 days ago, your prosthetic skull was placed. Your fifth surgery, and the one that finally stuck.”
Other gains were quieter but deeply meaningful for her family: an intentional smile during a game of thumb war and, later, the return of her voice.
“145 days ago, you smiled for the first time (intentionally) while we played thumb war.”
“61 days ago, I heard your voice again.”
For families facing traumatic brain injuries, recovery is often measured through such individual breakthroughs. Maya’s discharge means she can continue moving forward outside the hospital environment, while still facing a lengthy rehabilitation process.
Support From Hospital Staff and Family
Gebala thanked the nurses, physicians and therapists who supported Maya and her relatives through months of uncertainty. Their care covered the emergency treatment that followed the shooting as well as the sustained rehabilitation needed after multiple surgeries.
“Now it’s time to leave these hospital walls behind and keep moving forward, Maya Bear.”
He has regularly shared updates about his daughter’s progress since the shooting. One recent outing allowed Maya to see Foo Fighters and celebrate her 13th birthday, offering a brief moment of normal life amid a difficult year.
The family’s public updates have shown the uneven nature of recovery: medical setbacks, urgent interventions and small signs of regained function have all been part of the journey. Maya’s release from hospital is therefore both a personal milestone and a reminder of the long-term impact on those who survived the Tumbler Ridge attack.
Legal Cases Follow the Tumbler Ridge Attack
Maya’s mother, Cia Edmonds, filed a criminal complaint on her daughter’s behalf against OpenAI. The case is among dozens brought in Canadian and US courts by victims, survivors and witnesses who allege negligence after it emerged that the shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, used ChatGPT while planning the attack.
British Columbia has also filed suit against OpenAI. The company has rejected claims that it failed to treat safety concerns seriously and has stated that using its tools to help carry out violence violates its policies.
“Zero-tolerance policy for using our tools to assist in committing violence.”
OpenAI has said it deactivated an account created by Van Rootselaar in June 2025 because of violent activity. The company has said that Van Rootselaar later opened another account and continued using the chatbot.
Chief executive Sam Altman has previously apologized to the Tumbler Ridge community for the company’s failure to alert authorities about disturbing conversations connected to the shooter after the account had been flagged internally.
Earlier in October, US authorities arrested a 30-year-old Washington state resident who allegedly gave Van Rootselaar advice and sent money before the shooting. Van Rootselaar had also posted online about guns, hunting and apparent mental health struggles before the massacre.
As legal proceedings continue, Maya’s discharge offers her family a moment to recognize how far she has come. The trauma of February 10 remains central to the lives of Tumbler Ridge survivors, but David Gebala’s message focused on his daughter’s determination to keep going.
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