It might have flown under the radar for many fight fans, but there was a small addition to the octagon at UFC Houston on Saturday.
The name Maya Gebala was emblazoned on one of the upper supports of the cage structure, in reference to the 12-year-old survivor of the Tumbler Ridge, B.C. shooting massacre earlier this month in Canada.
Gebala was shot in the head and neck while trying to lock the door to her school library in an effort to keep the shooter, Jesse Van Rootselaar, out. Six victims, including five students and one teacher, were killed at Tumbler Ridge Seconary School on February 10. Van Rootselaar’s mother and brother were shot dead at the family home.
The gunman later died of a self-inflicted gunshot; the shooting is one of the worst in Canadian history.
Saturday’s tribute comes while Gebala’s family, including mother Cia Edmonds, continues to provide updates on the girl’s recovery. Doctors originally did not expect her to survive the night. She did. It was then unclear if she would regain consciousness, but on Saturday, Gebala had opened her right eye and shown movement in her right arm.
Come Saturday night, over ten days on from the massacre, Gebala was rushed to emergency surgery for severe fluid build up on the brain caused by Hydrocephalus (known colloquially as “water on the brain”), essentially cerebrospinal fluid accumulating in the brain’s ventricles and putting pressure on the brain itself.
Per an update on a GoFundMe set up to assist in Maya’s recovery, the surgery was successful. Maya’s father, David, wrote that “Our brave little warrior has come through her emergency surgery. After what felt like the longest hour of our lives, the surgeon came to tell us it was successful. They’ve placed a drain on her right side, and she’s holding on strong just another hurdle she’s facing with so much strength. We love you endlessly.”
In a separate message posted during the UFC Houston event, David Gebala extended his thanks to the UFC.
“Big shout out to the UFC for doing this for our amazing little warrior Maya! Also want to thank Dana White and everyone involved for reaching out to us! You guys have been truly amazing and we can’t begin to thank you enough.”
