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Joey White: Buffalo man, 64, rescued from blizzard by good Samaritan loses his fingers to frostbite

Joey White had to undergo emergency surgery after he was taken to a hospital and all he has now is half a thumb

BUFFALO, NEW YORK: A mentally disabled Buffalo man has lost all his fingers and knuckles from frostbite after being rescued by a Good Samaritan during a massive blizzard during Christmas 2022.

As per the Daily Mail, Joey White, 64, suffered fourth-degree frostbite which left his hands with blisters and turned his fingers black when became stranded during a winter storm that rocked the town in December 2022. He was eventually rescued by Sha'Kyra Aughtry, who brought him inside her house, where she tended to his wounds, fed him, and kept him company until they took him to the local hospital.

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For more than two weeks, White underwent a number of surgeries for the severe frostbite but his finger could not be saved. His sister, Yvonne, revealed earlier this week that the surgeons has amputated all of his fingers and knuckles, except for half a thumb. She told The Buffalo News that this week’s surgery was heart-wrenching for the family. "Yvonne, where are my fingers?" he had asked her, she said. When she heard her brother repeat such things, Yvonne claimed she was unable to hold back her tears.

Yvonne said that she hoped Joey will eventually be able to use prosthetic devices and that she had also consulted professionals for advice on how to approach the subject with him. "They said you can tell him, 'Yes, you lost your fingers. But now you're going to get special fingers.' This is going to be hard for him," Yvonne reportedly said. She later also thanked the community for showing support to her brother and Aughtry, who brought him out of the cold and into her home on Thatcher Avenue. "The outpouring of love in this community – you'll never find that in any other city. I'm convinced of that," Yvonne said.

Aughtry was reportedly enjoying her Christmas Eve when she heard White cry and saw him from her window, during the blizzard. She asked her boyfriend to check on the man and he returned carrying White in his arms. The sexagenarian was half-frozen outside their home with "ice balls on his hands." The couple first tended to his wounds, and then they fed him and gave him space to sleep. They kept him inside their house until community members were able to use their truck to take White to the Erie County Medical Center.

Aughtry posted a plea on Facebook for help and with the assistance of neighbors and kind strangers, their driveway was plowed and they were able to get White to the hospital. "I've had this man since 6:37 yesterday morning. Nobody has been here to help this man. This is what his hands are looking like. We've got to get some help. He has gangrene on his hands... He's going to lose his fingers," she had posted at that time.