"I don't care about nothing else," she said. "This man is not about to die over here."
An incredible act of kindness from a complete stranger helped save a man's life. Joe White suffered severe frostbite on his hands during the raging snowstorm on Christmas Eve. The 64-year-old is a person with a mental disability, and he did not understand the true severity of the storm, according to a GoFundMe set up by Chris Dearing who works at North Park Theatre in Buffalo where White has been an employee for nearly 40 years. It is believed he might have ventured out in the sub-zero conditions to work his job at the nearby movie theater.
"Disoriented and crying out for help, he miraculously found himself at the doorstep of Sha'Kyra Rain Aughtry—a total stranger—who put her Christmas plans aside and tended to his wounds the best she could. Unfortunately, the snow prevented emergency services from reaching Joe's location right away, and two days passed until Sha'Kyra was able to find transport to ECMC," Dearing wrote. Sha'Kyra Aughtry and her boyfriend Trent brought the elderly man inside and realized that his clothes had frozen onto his body. Ice had covered his exposed hands and the mother-of-three used a blow dryer to melt the ice all over his body, according to CNN.
TRUE ANGEL IN BUFFALO 💯 A THREAD: A local woman received a call on Christmas Eve, “Hi, you don't know me but I have your brother.” The woman’s brother’s name is Joey. He is 64 years old and mentally disabled. pic.twitter.com/iAVQTsf2xH
— Kimberly LaRussa (@KimberlyLaRussa) December 26, 2022
"I've called the National Guard. I've called 911. I've called everybody – they just keep telling me I'm on a list. I don't want to be on a list," Aughtry said on her live stream about treating White. "I don't care about nothing else," Aughtry added. "This man is not about to die over here." Eventually, she was able to take White to a hospital on Christmas night. “I’m in the car with him and some nice Samaritans that came and snowplowed us out,” she said on another live stream.
In another GoFundMe set up by Chris Dearing, he wrote, "As the storm wound down, she rallied the support of strangers online, and she found a way to get Joe to ECMC. Without her generous spirit and fierce determination to get Joe help, my friend would be dead. Sha'Kyra did all of this without any thought of reward, but she deserves one, and so does her family. She's a hard-working young mother, and I want to show her at least a fraction of the support she gave my friend Joe."
Currently, Joe's condition is stable and he's in good spirits, but it's still too early to tell what the condition of his hands will be. "He was in a mess," Ray Barker, White's boss at North Park Theater, told CNN. "And (Aughtry) clearly saved his life. We've been worried sick about Joe," he added. "We know that he's getting good medical care at the moment and we can't wait for him to get back to the theater."
Let’s bless this Good Samaritan!!! Her and boyfriend saved a complete stranger’s life in the Buffalo freeze! She went above and beyond!!!! 💜 https://t.co/ohZR53PbX5
— Claudia Jordan (@claudiajordan) December 28, 2022
This is a developing story, and we’ll update you as we learn more. Information about the Buffalo snowstorm is swiftly changing, and WomenWorking is committed to providing the most recent and verified updates in our articles and reportage. However, considering the frequency of developments, some of the information/data in this article may have changed since the time of publication. You can check for information and seek help at Buffalo Blizzard Resources.
References:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/27/us/buffalo-woman-saves-man-frostbite-facebook/index.html
https://www.gofundme.com/f/bless-shakyra-rain-aughtry-for-saving-joes-life
https://www.gofundme.com/f/7e5nx-joes-support-fund
https://twitter.com/KimberlyLaRussa/status/1607486430015811584?cxt=HHwWgMDTpYWZ-M4sAAAA
https://twitter.com/claudiajordan/status/1608032337249406978?
Cover Image Source: GoFundMe
