Many also joined hands to raise nearly $100,000 for the man who is currently recovering in the hospital.
A mother of three who helped save a man's life is being rewarded for her kindness. The Buffalo woman named Sha'Kyra Aughtry rescued a disabled man who suffered severe frostbite on his hands during the raging snowstorm on Christmas Eve. 64-year-old Joe White who has special needs was finally sent to ECMC Hospital in Buffalo for treatment after two days. 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.
"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.
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
"I currently have [an] older 64-year-old white man in my house. I found him yesterday. I heard him screaming for help on my street. I'm looking out the window, and when I looked out the window, he was getting blown up and down the street. It was out of control," Aughtry said in a 15-minute live video. She and her boyfriend Trent brought White home and noticed ice had covered his exposed hands and that his clothes had frozen onto his body. The mother-of-three used a blow dryer to melt the ice all over his body. "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.
Additionally, a verified GoFundMe has been created to thank Sha'Kyra—the kind neighbor who opened up her home and heart to a complete stranger: https://t.co/cv6Yv7oFB8
— GoFundMe (@gofundme) December 27, 2022
In another GoFundMe set up by Chris Dearing he praised Aughtry and "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." Yvonne White, who said she lives across the city from her brother, is grateful for Aughtry's kindness. "We gained a sister with Sha'Kyra. We gained another brother with [her partner]. And now we have three small nephews," she said, according to Good Morning America. "Sha'Kyra and I will be sisters no matter what." Both the GoFundMe pages have raised over $261000 for Aughtry and White at the time of this publication.
This is a developing story, and we’ll update you as we learn more. Information about the Buffalo snowstorm is swiftly changing, and Upworthy 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.