The storm hit Buffalo with brutal force—winds howling, snow falling faster than anyone could clear it, streets buried under layers of ice. Most people were locked inside, hoping the power wouldn’t go out. But outside, somewhere in that white silence, a man was calling for help.
Sha’Kyra Aughtry heard it.
At first, she thought she was imagining things. The blizzard had been raging for hours, and visibility was almost zero. But then she heard it again—a voice, weak and desperate. She looked out the window and saw something moving in the snow. A man.
Without hesitation, she and her boyfriend bundled up and fought their way into the storm. What they found would haunt most people for a lifetime.
There, half-buried in the snowbank, was 64-year-old Joey White—a man with a developmental disability, lost and freezing. His hands were swollen and dark from frostbite. He could barely speak. The cold had nearly claimed him.
Sha’Kyra’s boyfriend lifted Joey into their arms and carried him inside. She wrapped him in blankets, turned on heaters, and made him food. But she didn’t stop there. When she noticed his socks were frozen to his skin, she carefully cut them off to save his feet from further damage.
Joey whispered through chattering teeth, “Thank you.”
Sha’Kyra tried calling emergency services—but no one could get through. The roads were impassable. The blizzard had shut the city down. So she did something unexpected: she went live on Facebook. Her voice trembled as she spoke to the camera, pleading for help. “I have a man here. He’s freezing. Please—somebody tell emergency services we need rescue.”
The post spread like wildfire. Viewers shared it across Buffalo, and soon, first responders were alerted. After hours of waiting and caring for Joey, a rescue team finally arrived. He was airlifted to the hospital—alive, safe, and stable.
Days later, when Joey woke up in his hospital bed, the first thing he asked for was Sha’Kyra. She visited him, and when they saw each other again, they both cried. In the middle of one of the worst blizzards in Buffalo’s history, a stranger had saved his life—not for recognition, not for reward, but because compassion spoke louder than fear.
Today, Joey is recovering well. His frostbite is healing, and his smile has returned. Sha’Kyra continues to receive messages from around the world—people inspired by her courage and humanity.
She says she doesn’t see herself as a hero. “I just did what I hope someone would do for my family,” she said.
And maybe that’s what makes her one. ❤️