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On Xmas, Woman Finds Disabled Man Freezing In The Snow. And Turned Heaven And Earth To Save His Life [1]
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Date: 2023-01-01
Sha'Kyra Aughtry knew that she and her boyfriend Trent were going to be stuck at home for a good, long while as their Buffalo neighborhood, as well as their city, was hit with 51 inches of snow in the two days prior to Christmas Eve.
Their front stoop, and the street in front of their home, was indeed covered by four plus feet of snow
But they were grateful.
Their electricity and heat were working, they had plenty of food, they had wrapped presents under their Christmas tree.
Her three sons got stuck at a relatives and were snowed in, but were warm and safe.
They might as well snuggle and rough it in comfort.
Unlike so many.
At 6:37 on the morning of the 24th, Sha'Kyra heard cries for help from outside, over the storm.
Outside was 64-year-old Joe White, and he was in bad shape.
Joe has special needs and is developmentally disabled and had left his group home to go to work in the middle of the snowstorm.
Joe is the longest serving employee of the North Park Theater, having worked there as a custodian for 42 years, and it’s difficult for him to break his routine.
And not wearing all he could to stay warm, he got lost on his walk.
Sha'Kyra and Trent went onto the street to bring him in, and his condition was dire.
His hands were all frostbite and gangrene had already begun to set.
The plastic bag he was holding had frozen and had become stuck into his skin, which they cut away as best they could.
His hands became "big ice balls", and she used a blow dryer to melt the ice off the hands. She used clippers to snip off two rings on Joe’s badly swollen fingers, which by then were turning black.
And he was almost incoherent.
But he was in great great pain.
So Sha'Kyr bundled him up in front of the fire until he began to warm up, but it was slow going.
She had called emergency services for help and was told that they would be unable to respond to emergencies and couldn’t get through to help them.
That for the time being, there would be no help.
"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. I don't care about nothing else. This man is not about to die over here.
I’m going crazy because I’m scared. I’m starting to see his body change too much from the time that I had him – his body has changed rapidly every hour.”
And she was almost frantic with fear for Joe’s life.
She needed to warm him up even more, so she drew a warm bath, undressed Joe, and bathed him.
Trying to keep his spirits, and her own, going.
After, she spoon fed him Christmas dinner, as he had no use of his hands.
And after a pensive and painful day, Joe was finally able to sleep.
The next day, Christmas, with no help forthcoming and Joe’s injuries getting rapidly worse, she took to Facebook Live.
"He needs medical attention!" she pleaded.
All the roads and the entire neighborhood was impassable, so she reiterated, “This man is not about to die over here on 111. Y’all need to get this man some help. He needs to go because he needs medical attention.”
Her pleas were finally answered by concerned and able community members.
A half dozen men saw that livestream and braved the elements to find their way to her home.
Individually, they came, all of them with the same mindset and intention.
They uncovered her vehicle, dug out the walkway and driveway and plowed the street.
On Christmas night, she posted another livestream.
They were on the way to the hospital.
“I’m in the car with him and some nice Samaritans that came and snowplowed us out,” she said. "I got some guys just carrying him right now. I just want to show you all that I wasn't exaggerating. They came in, they plowed out my house. They getting him in the truck."
The stream shows Sha'Kyra reassuring Joe, “You’re doing an excellent job, Joe. You’ve just got to breathe, right?”
They finally separated once Joe was in the care of hospital staff.
Joe remains in intensive care at ECMC Hospital’s ICU burn unit with fourth-degree frostbite. His arms and fingers have not improved, and he may have to have some fingers amputated, but they are trying skin grafts first.
Said Joe’s sister Yvonne, "It's just touch and go. It's stable. I mean, his hands are completely wrapped, his fingertips are still purple.
My brother's mental capacity is that of an 11-year-old child. If it wasn't for this angel, if it wasn't for this wonderful, wonderful human being, he would've perished and he would've been another statistic in this storm.
He has no concept of the time frame. Now, yesterday, he said that's what he did but as far as the time frame, nobody knows, as far as what specific day, nobody knows."
We're just praying to God that his hands and fingers will be okay.”
And she said that when it comes to Sha'Kyra, “We have an extended family member.
We gained a sister with Sha'Kyra. We gained another brother with Trent. And now we have three small nephews ( Sha'Kyra’s sons). Sha'Kyra and I will be sisters no matter what.
This woman did something an angel would do. OK, to take in a perfect stranger. You took him in your home on Christmas Eve.”
Ray Barker is a professor and the program director at North Park Theatre, and is Joe’s friend and supervisor.
I was surprised to hear that he'd gotten lost in the storm," Barker said, adding that he had told White on Dec. 22 not to report to work. "I was, of course, incredibly worried about the consequences of that with the frostbite and then very grateful that two people who didn't know him took the time to bring him into their house. If they hadn't done that, he may have had a very tragic end and that's very painful to think about."
"The theater is really his whole life. We've been worried sick about Joe. 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."
Chris Dearing is the marketing director at the theater, and started two GoFundMe fundraisers, for both Sha’Kyra and for Joe.
[END]
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/1/1/2144241/-On-Xmas-Woman-Finds-Disabled-Man-Freezing-In-The-Snow-And-Turned-Heaven-And-Earth-To-Save-His-Life
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