UFC boss Dana White steps up with medical, financial aid for Tumbler Ridge survivor

VANCOUVER — UFC president Dana White has offered full financial backing for specialized medical care in the United States for 12-year-old Tumbler Ridge shooting survivor Maya Gebala, her family says, as the girl continues to recover from catastrophic brain injuries sustained while heroically trying to protect her classmates.Gebala was shot three times — once grazing her cheek and ear, and twice striking her head and neck — on February 10 when 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar carried out a rampage at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in northeastern British Columbia.The attack killed eight people and injured others. Gebala, a seventh-grader, had attempted to lock the library door to keep the shooter out before hiding under a table, according to numerous accounts. She was airlifted to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, where she has remained in intensive care, battling infections, an abscess, meningitis, pneumonia and multiple surgeries.White reached out to the family roughly one week after Gebala’s admission to the hospital, offering to cover the cost of treatment at a leading children’s hospital in Los Angeles, along with accommodation for her family. The offer was not publicly disclosed until now.On Wednesday, Gebala’s mother, Cia Edmonds, shared the news on social media, saying she had waited until her daughter was stable enough to consider travel..Edmonds said that she had waited to share news of White’s offer.“The (L.A.) children’s hospital has an extensive brain trauma clinic and more resources,” she wrote.“However, Maya hadn’t been stable enough to travel. Until now. Still tentative!..Providing nothing serious happens between now and Monday. We may finally start looking towards a future for my girls … Stability and recovery."“It feels as thought the air got lighter, and Maya has some light in her eyes … hope just got a little more brighter.”Edmonds added that a recent sample from the abscess in Maya’s brain showed no growth or active infection, raising hopes that it could be safely removed. The family has met with hospital staff about potentially leaving the intensive-care unit, marking the first encouraging update in weeks after repeated setbacks that delayed skull-repair surgery.The UFC had already shown its support earlier.On February 21, during a Fight Night event in Houston, Texas, organizers paid tribute to Gebala by printing her name on part of the octagon. Her father, David Gebala, publicly thanked White and the organization at the time..“For anyone who watches UFC, they put my babes name in the ring. Super cool,” said Maya's mother in a Facebook post update on Wednesday.Gebala, a young hockey player known for her bravery, remains in guarded condition but has shown small signs of progress, including movement on her left side and brief moments of alertness, her parents have said in earlier updates. The potential transfer to Los Angeles would provide access to advanced brain-trauma resources not as readily available locally, Edmonds noted.The family has also faced the emotional toll of the shooting, which devastated the small resource town of Tumbler Ridge.Gebala’s story has drawn widespread attention and support from across Canada including a GoFundMe that has raised more than $500,000 as of Thursday morning.

UFC boss Dana White steps up with medical, financial aid for Tumbler Ridge survivor

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