What began with sirens and chaos has become something no one in Tumbler Ridge will forget — a fragile, emotional homecoming.

Nineteen-year-old Paige Hoekstra has been discharged from a Vancouver hospital after undergoing emergency surgery for a gunshot wound to the chest. Doctors have described her recovery as remarkable given the severity of her injuries. For days, her loved ones lived suspended between fear and hope, waiting for signs that her body would respond, that she would stabilize, that she would fight through.

She did.

Now, Paige has returned to Tumbler Ridge — not just as a survivor, but as a symbol of resilience for a community still trying to process what happened. In small towns, tragedy echoes loudly. Everyone feels it. Everyone knows someone connected. And when someone makes it home after something this serious, it matters.

But the story isn’t finished.

Twelve-year-old Maya Gebala remains hospitalized at BC Children’s Hospital, where her condition is still described as delicate. While Paige’s return offers hope, the weight of uncertainty continues for another family.

Healing after violence is layered. Physical recovery is only one part. There’s emotional shock. Community grief. Questions that linger long after headlines fade.

Still, Paige walking back into her hometown sends a message that cannot be ignored:

Survival is possible.
Strength can surprise even doctors.
And light can break through, even after the darkest nights.

For Tumbler Ridge, this isn’t closure. It’s a step.
One survivor home. One still fighting.

And a community holding both sorrow and hope at the same time.