In May of 2013, Sa'fyre Terry suffered severe burns in an arson fire, a fire that killed her father, younger sister, and two toddler brothers.
Sa'fyre was 6-years-old when the unsolved blaze wracked her home and her life. What it didn't diminish, though, is her Christmas spirit.
Now, Sa'fyre is eight-years-old, and all she wants for Christmas are holiday cards from fellow New Yorkers.
According to the Daily News, she's already received nearly four dozen Merry Christmas notes in the mail. She and her aunt, uncle, and cousins are also heading to Disney World, thanks to the donation from a charity called Baking Memories 4 Kids.
"It's magical," said Liz Dolder, Sa'fyre's aunt. "You always hear about those horrible things happening. And for this to happen-- it restores your faith in humanity."
Sa'fyre now lives in the Albany with her aunt, uncle and her two twin cousins. The fire in 2013 burned down her home in Schenectady.
Sa'fyre's father died trying to shield Sa'fyre from the blaze, but 75% of her body was still burned. Her right hand and foot also had to be amputated.
She has to undergo regular skin graft operations until she grows up. Michael Dolder, her uncle, lost his job, something he and his wife suspect has to do with his missing work so often to take Sa'fyre to treatment.
Still, Sa'frye's Christmas spirit is alight. She and her 8-year-old twin cousins Jacob and Jasmine recently sat with Santa at the yearly holiday parade run by The Daily Gazette of Schenectady, and they are looking forward to their trip to Disney World.
Sa'fyre's said she's "so proud" to have received all the cards to adorn her Christmas card tree.
The charity that's bringing Sa'fyre and the Dolders to Dinsey World, Memories 4 Kids, uses proceeds from the sales of cookies to send children with life-threatening diseases to Florida amusement parks.
fantaystic Hi everyone. Now, I don't really post about these kinds of things but this time I sincerely had to. Pictured here is a sweet little 8 year old girl named Safyre- a victim to arson. But she's not the only victim, she's the only survivor. In May of 2013 at the age of 5, an arsonist lit a fire in the apartment complex she called home. In that fire, she lost her siblings Leyah, 3, Michael, 2, and Donovan, 11 months, were killed. Her father, David Terry, died while shielding her from the flames. She suffered from burns on 75% of her body. At 5 years old. She lost her right hand 3 months after the fire and her right foot in March. So far she's gone under 50 operations, her next scheduled for January 5th. Safyre now lives with her aunt Liz Donovan, who took custody of the girl around Christmas of 2013. Pictured above is 8 year old Safyre standing beside a metal Christmas card holder in the shape of a tree. This year, all Safyre wants for Christmas is cards to put on the little metal tree. So far, she's received 14 cards from her Aunt making a Facebook post about the little girl's wish for Christmas cards (pictured top right). The least we can do is help this little girl out, right? Please, spread the word, screenshot this, post this to Facebook, tell your family, friends, do some research, ANYTHING that will raise awareness for her. Please help. This beautiful baby deserves it. After losing everything, all she wants are some Christmas cards. ••••• The address to send the cards to is: Safyre P.O. Box 6126 Schenectady NY 12306, USA ••••• #schenectadysupersurvivor #cardsforsafyre #christmas #holidays #help #haveaheart #safyre #safyreterry #safyreschristmaswish #fire #burnvictim #littlegirl #babygirl #christmascards #christmaswish
"This is going to be a Christmas that we'll never forget," Dolder said. "It's been such a hard year."
Also, there's more good news: Sa'frye's Uncle Michael got a new job a couple weeks ago.
If you want to send holiday greetings to Sa'fyre, who's inspiring New Yorkers everywhere with her relentlessly positive spirit, you can send them to Sa'fyre Terry, P.O. Box 6126, Schenectady, NY 12306.
You can also follow Sa'fyre's story on Facebook. She hopes to help other kids who've suffered serious burns to go out in public without fear of others' looks and comments.
Check out 6 Reasons Why You'll Always Call New York Home.
[Feature Image Courtesy Telegraph]