12-YEAR-OLD MAYA “MAYA BEAR” GEBALA DEFIES DOCTORS’ DIRE WARNING AND BEGINS BREATHING ON HER OWN AFTER FAMILY WAS TOLD SHE HAD ONLY HOURS TO LIVE

Mother of Tumbler Ridge victim, 12, says someone stole Maya Gebala’s paddle board

Mother of Tumbler Ridge victim, 12, says someone stole Maya Gebala’s paddle board 

The mother of a Tumbler Ridge victim, 12-year-old Maya Gebala, who remains in a coma, says that her daughter’s belongings were stolen.

In an update on Gebala’s GoFundMe page on Tuesday, her mother Cia Edmonds shared that the tonneau cover on her pickup truck was sliced open and someone stole Gebala’s paddle board, and “potentially our golf clubs.”

Gebala is one of the survivors of a shooting at Tumbler Ridge High School in B.C., where six people (five students and one teacher) were killed on Feb. 10. She has been in a medically induced coma after she was shot while protecting her classmates.

The shooter was identified by the RCMP as 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar (who went by the last name Strang). The shooter died at the scene by what appeared to be a self-inflicted injury. The same day, authorities also found Van Rootselaar’s mother and brother dead at their family home.
Maya Gebala playing hockey, and in hospital with her mother, in a series of images from Facebook. 

The fundraiser was created by Gebala’s family “to provide relief for Cia and Maya during this devastating time,” Edmonds’ cousin wrote in a post on the page. As of Wednesday, $439,773 has been raised.

In Edmonds’ update about the theft, she shared that she was grateful for the support she has been receiving, but she was also struggling.

“I am not able to keep up with replies, or even reading all of it, as of lately. The first couple of days were so busy. The Rollercoaster of emotions hit me like a tsunami and now I feel as though I have levelled into still water…. numbness…,” she wrote.

“Life has been a bit heavy and I am feeling it lately. I have hope for her, as always. My faith is unwavering. Perhaps though, its finally sunk in on day 7, that she won’t be opening her eyes anytime soon…”

Edmonds said that Gebala has moved into a new section at the hospital for recovery, which “is acknowledgement that she is fighting and refuses to quit.” She said that her daughter still has no movement on her right side and the doctor said it would “never come back,” similar to a stroke.

“Just know that, the stories, the love, the support and admiration for our powerhouse of a girl is not lost, I see you. We feel you,” she said.

Another victim also injured in the shooting, Paige Hoekstra, is set to be cleared to go home after surgery, according to an update on a GoFundMe page created by her family.

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