Strangers on the internet have joined forces to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for a Buffalo woman and mentally challenged man – whom they rescued during Buffalo’s deadly snowstorm last month.
Sha’Kyra Aughtry was at her home in Buffalo, New York on Christmas Eve morning when she suddenly heard someone screaming for help.
Sha’Kyra and her boyfriend Trent ran outside to find Joey ‘Joe’ White, a 64-year-old local movie worker, lying in a pile of snow, suffering from severe frostbite.
Joe was completely covered in ice and “so frozen” that Sha’Kyra and Trent “had to cut off his socks and use a hair dryer” to try and warm his pants, which were stuck to his legs, as per a shared social -Media post comes from Sha’Kyra about the incident.
Strangers online have teamed up to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for a Buffalo woman and mentally challenged man they rescued during Buffalo’s snowstorm
Sha’Kyra Aughtry (seen) was at her home in Buffalo, New York on the morning of Christmas Eve when she suddenly heard someone screaming for help
Sha’Kyra and her boyfriend ran outside to find Joey ‘Joe’ White (seen in the snow), a 64-year-old cinema worker lying in a pile of snow, suffering from severe frostbite
Joe was completely covered in ice and was “so frozen” that Sha’Kyra and Trent “had to cut off his socks and use a hair dryer” to try to warm his pants, which were stuck to his legs.
The couple also had to use giant clippers to cut off a ring from his finger, which was swollen and turned black from gangrene, and the straps of a bag he was holding that had frozen to his hands.
After locating the man, Sha’Kyra shared a video to Facebook asking for help getting him to a hospital amid the terrible snowstorm, explaining that medical staff were unable to get to her to get home, but that “he needs medical attention”. ‘
Sha’Kyra tended his wounds, fed him, bathed him – and ultimately saved his life.
He was eventually taken to Erie County Medical Center, where doctors said he suffered numerous fourth-degree burns on his arms and hands and would almost certainly have died had Sha’Kyra and her boyfriend not stepped in to help.
Shortly thereafter, a friend of Joe’s named Chris Dearing set up GoFundMe pages for Joe and Sha’Kyra — urging people to donate to the woman who saved his pal with her “generous spirit and fierce determination.”
He has now raised more than $174,000 for Sha’Kyra and $97,000 for Joe, for a total of about $271,000.
“Around noon on Christmas Eve, Sha’Kyra called to let me know that she was opening her house that early morning to Joe White, my friend and North Park collaborator of about 40 years, after he showed up at her door dazed and yelled for her for help,” he wrote on the GoFundMe page.
“His hands were brutally frozen and emergency vehicles had no way of reaching their location.
“Without hesitation, she pushed aside her family’s plans for Christmas and treated his wounds as best she could.
The couple also had to use giant clippers to snip a ring off his finger, which was swollen and turning black from gangrene
After locating the man, Sha’Kyra shared a video to Facebook asking for help getting him to a hospital amid the terrible snowstorm
He was eventually taken to Erie County Medical Center, where doctors said he suffered numerous fourth-degree burns on his arms and hands
“As the storm abated, she rallied support from strangers online and found a way to get Joe to the ECMC.
“Without her generous spirit and fierce determination to get Joe’s help, my friend would be dead.
‘Sha’Kyra has done all this without thinking of a reward, but she deserves one, and so does her family.
“She’s a hardworking young mom and I want to show her at least a fraction of the support she gave to my friend Joe.”
Joe’s sister Yvonne White said in a recent interview with Good Morning America that her brother is still in intensive care and his condition has not improved.
“It’s just a touch and you’re good to go. It’s stable. I mean his hands are completely wrapped, his fingertips are still purple,” she said. “But he was in a pretty good mood today.”
She explained to the outlet that her brother was walking home from work when he got stuck in the storm.
But she added that it’s hard to know how long he’s been out in the cold because he has “no sense of time.”
She previously said in an interview with The Buffalo News that Joe was developmentally disabled and had the mental abilities of an 11-year-old. He lives in a shared apartment a few blocks from Sha’Kyra.
Shortly after, a friend of Joe’s set up GoFundMe pages for Joe and Sha’Kyra — urging people to donate to the woman who saved his pal with her “generous spirit and fierce determination.”
He has now raised more than $174,000 for Sha’Kyra and $97,000 for Joe, for a total of about $271,000
Doctors say Joe would almost certainly have died if Sha’Kyra and her boyfriend hadn’t stepped in to help. He is seen being transported to the hospital
Joe’s sister, Yvonne White, explained that her brother was walking home from his job at the North Park Theater (seen) when he got stuck in the storm
‘He can read to an extent. He’s very outgoing,’ she explained. “He likes to talk to people, likes to meet people, is very outgoing.”
She added, “What Sha’kyra did… fed him, bathed him, helped him go to the bathroom on Christmas Eve and Christmas. It’s just astronomical.”
On the GoFundMe page for Joe, his friend Chris said he was “in a good mood” but it was “too early to know” what will happen to his hands.
Yvonne previously told The Buffalo News in an interview that Joe was mentally challenged and had the mental abilities of an 11-year-old child. He lives in a shared apartment a few blocks from Sha’Kyra
“All funds generated here will be spent on Joe’s most urgent medical needs,” he wrote.
“If he miraculously leaves the hospital with no lasting complications, the funds will go towards improving his day-to-day care at home so it doesn’t happen again.
“We couldn’t be there for him that night in the snow but we can be there for him now.”
Joe’s manager at the cinema – where he’s worked since 1980 – Ray Barker, told GMA that the “worst-case scenario” is that they might have to amputate a finger and he’ll likely need a skin graft as well.
Buffalo received a record-breaking 51 inches of snow over two days during the ferocious storm, and at least 64 people were killed.
Yvonne said that the “silver lining” of the horrific ordeal was that she had gained a “sister” in Sha’Kyra.
“Sha’Kyra and I will be sisters no matter what,” she gushed.
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