An elderly man from Buffalo, New York - who was rescued and cared for by a good samaritan on Christmas Eve - reportedly lost all of his fingers and knuckles due to frostbite.
As previously reported, 64-year-old Joe 'Joey' White had been screaming for help when local woman Sha'Kyra Aughtry and her boyfriend Trent heard his cries for help. White, who works at a local movie theater and has a developmental disability, had been stuck outside in a blizzard and was suffering from severe frostbite.
Determined not to leave him, Sha'Kyra took White into her home and attempted to call emergency services.
Due to the extreme weather, however, help did not come. Given that the mom of three does not have medical experience, she became concerned about how she would care for White, who was incredibly confused and unwell.
Sha'Kyra ended up taking to Facebook Live, in the hopes that the footage would reach people who could offer assistance, revealing that she and Trent had to use a hair dryer to remove his pants (which were frozen to his legs), cut off his socks, and even use pliers to remove a ring from his finger, which had turned black and become rather swollen.
"I've called everybody," Sha'Kyra said on the live stream, adding that this included both 911 and the National Guard. She revealed that she had been put "on a list," given the high volume of calls received. "I don't care about nothing else. This man is not about to die over here," she said.
"I can't do it," she emotionally pleaded on the live stream. "He is 64 years old. His name is Joe. Y'all need to come and get him, I don't care who comes and gets him, but y'all need to get this man some help," she continued.
Eventually, a group of men came and plowed the snow around Sha'Kyra's home before taking White to hospital. Per CNN, he ended up suffering fourth-degree burns from the frostbite and had to receive specialist treatment.
Sadly, this week his sister Yvonne White and Sha'Kyra gave an update on his health situation, revealing that doctors had to remove all of his fingers and knuckles, except for half of a thumb, The Daily Mail reported.
Taking to her Facebook page, Sha'Kyra posted an update about how sad she was that she "couldn't help [White] any faster," writing: "I have been keeping quiet because I wanted Joey to have his privacy and didn't know what the outcome would be but I literally can not stop crying, I feel soooo bad for Joey I am lost for words."
She continued: "Joey I am so sorry I couldn't help any faster god my soul hurts for him and his family…. Please pray for his mental health prayers for his family [...] I love you Joey I'll make all the pancakes in the world for you and feed you every time you say Hey can you make me pancakes …"
Since White's rescue went viral, a GoFundMe was started by his colleague at North Park Theater to help raise money for his medical care and expenses. Of the original $20,000 goal, the fundraiser has already raised just over $100,000.
The same colleague started a fundraiser for Sha'Kyra as well, and that has also exceeded its $20,000 - making just shy of $180,000.
White's sister told The Buffalo News that she's been overwhelmed with the support for her family. "The outpouring of love in this community - you'll never find that in any other city. I'm convinced of that," she said.
