Mom of 3 saves ‘frozen’ stranger she heard screaming for help during Buffalo blizzard

The death toll from the deadliest blizzard in the history of Buffalo, New York, now stands at 37. But that number would likely be one higher, if it wasn’t for Sha’Kyra Aughtry's willingness to open up her home to a stranger.

On Christmas Eve, Aughtry discovered a man outside her residence after she heard his screams for help.

“The winds — just sweeping him away," she told NBC affiliate WGRZ. "I seen his body, and then I didn’t see his body. And I just could tell he was stumbling, he was falling."

And despite any trepidation she may have had about inviting the stranger in, she knew she had to act fast as soon as she saw the state of the man.

“I told my boyfriend, I'm like, 'Hey, there is a guy outside. We gotta bring him in,'" she recalled.

According to Aughtry, the man, whose name is Joey, had balls of ice clinging to his hands. She had to cut away a bag that was frozen to him and remove a ring from his finger to prevent loss of circulation.

"He was like frozen," she said. "His pants were frozen, his shoes were frozen.”

She discovered that Joey lived in a local group home, and he'd been trying to make his way to work at North Park Theatre when the storm overwhelmed him.

But what she didn't know was how to help him with his frostbite. Aughtry, who's also a mom of three, had to call a family member who's a nurse to get triage tips, since she said her calls to 911 and the National Guard didn't result in a timely response.

Joey spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Aughtry before she shared a public plea on Facebook.

“I’ve called everybody,” she said in the video. “I’m asking for help from whomever. This man needs serious help.”

And thanks to her, he got it.

Former NFL player and Buffalo native Doug Worthington and another man responded to Aughtry's message and made their way to her home to transport Joey to Erie County Medical Center, where he remains hospitalized.

“He said to me in the car, and it really touched me, he said to me, he said, 'I’m scared,'" Aughtry told WGRZ, remembering the moment. "I said, 'I’m scared, too,' and he said, 'Am I gonna die?' I said, 'We’re not talking about dying.' ... (He) looked at me and said, 'I love you,' and I said, 'I love you, too, Joey.'”

She went on to say that the former stranger "will forever be a part" of her family.

Joey's place of work has since honored Aughtry and her boyfriend by putting their names up in lights.

The marquee in front of North Park Theatre now reads, "Thank you Sha’Kyra and Trent," alongside "Get well soon, Joe."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com