Maya Gebala’s dad shares new photos: ‘Seeing the focus in her eye … she is absolutely there’

Maya Gebala in hospital with her sister, Dahlia. Photo by David Gebala /Facebook

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New images on Facebook have been shared showing recovering 12-year-old Tumbler Ridge shooting victim Maya Gebala interacting with her her little sister in hospital.

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The pictures show Maya and Dahlia operating a touchscreen together, their hands touching. Dahlia is wearing a hoodie with Maya’s name on the front and back, and in the second photo she is turned away to show off the back to her sister.

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The photos were posted by her father, David Gebala, with a simple heart emoji above them. Her mother, Cia Edmonds, who posts as “Cia Later,” then reposted the images and added: “My girls amaze me everyday.”

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The pictures are also available on Maya’s Path of Resilience, a public Facebook group with close to 80,000 members.

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Maya Gebala in hospital with her sister, Dahlia. Photo by David Gebala /Facebook

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Comments were enthusiastic, including one follower who wrote: “OMG, this is amazing! Seeing the focus in her eye and the expression on her face. She is so absolutely there. 1000 thank youse for sharing with us David. People in Canada and across the world just genuinely care, and want to see Maya find her way back to life. I am thousands of others continue to pray for Maya and for all of you each day. Love from Vancouver.”

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Maya suffered significant brain damage after being shot by 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar during a mass shooting on Feb. 10 in Tumbler Ridge, B.C. Six people were killed at a school and two others in a home that day.

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In a post from March 30, Cia wrote about the notion of Maya as a hero, writing that while her daughter is a hero to her, “She just doesn’t need that badge.”

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Instead, Cia called out the many heroes from that day and its aftermath.

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They included teacher Mark Deeley, who dragged a wounded student into the classroom; several students who tried in vain to keep that student alive; and student Christina Walker, who dragged Maya under a desk and also carried a message from a dying classmate: “Tell my parents I love them.”

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Cia wrote: “This girl, this child… carried those words on her shoulders, and scarred them heavy in her heart, and brought them to Abel’s parents.”

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She also called out Maya’s friend Abbison, who told police to grab Maya as she was still alive; and the officer on duty who did so and drove her to hospital.

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She added: “THOSE are heroes… TRUE heroes.”

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