Mom Overwhelmed by Flying Alone with Toddler — and Then Strangers Shocked Her with Their Reactions (Exclusive)

Gabrielle G. and her son were traveling home after visiting family for the Fourth of July when a global IT outage struck

• Gabrielle G. was traveling home to Florida after visiting family in Kansas City, Mo., when a global IT outage struck, canceling her flight

• Throughout the journey home, the single mom encountered many strangers offering to help both her and her son

• When she saw all the amazing people helping them, she decided to document those moments and compile a video for TikTok

One mom is showing just how far a simple act of kindness can go.

Gabrielle G., who goes by @notaregularnanny on social media, was traveling home to Florida after visiting family for the Fourth of July in Kansas City, Mo., when a global IT outage struck, canceling her light. After much back-and-forth, the single mom, 27, and her 18-month-old son were rebooked on a connecting flight through Detroit.

However, just before boarding, Gabrielle and her son were kicked off the flight due to space constraints. This caught the attention of another mom and her 2-year-old son, who were on the same flight.

"She saw me at the desk and noticed that we got kicked off our flight," Gabrielle tells PEOPLE. "She told me that she was happy to put her child in her lap so that we could have the extra seat. And so, we ended up getting a seat on that plane after all because of her."

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At that moment, Gabrielle had no idea that this would be the first of many acts of kindness she’d experience on her journey home, including from the man sitting in the window seat, who held her son up to look out the window, as they had an aisle seat.

Eventually, mom and son arrived in Detroit, only to discover that their flight to Florida had been canceled. Gabrielle recalls how there were no available flights, rental cars or hotel rooms. The only option was to wait three days for the next available flight.

As she considered her options, Gabrielle noticed people offering to help watch her son. "These little boys just played with him while I was frantically trying to find a hotel room," she says.

"Finally, I found one that was 40 minutes away from the airport. When we got there, I realized I didn’t have milk for my son. Some lovely man I met in the lobby said, 'I’m going to walk and try to find a grocery store. I’m happy to bring you back some milk,' " she adds.

"And he did," she continues. "There were just all these helpful people, especially when we realized we had to take the Amtrak train to get home, and it took us almost three days — 36 hours."

Throughout all of this, Gabrielle, who shares motherhood content online, had been filming their journey. When she saw all the amazing people helping, she decided to document those moments as well.

At first, she planned to send the videos to her parents, but as the acts of kindness continued, she realized she wanted to compile a lengthier video and share it online.

"I was so afraid to be traveling solo with my son, and then for all of these things to happen — these roadblocks along the way — I just felt like it was so serendipitous that we were surrounded by all these amazing, kind people," she says. "It was one of those situations where we were all stranded, and everyone just banded together to help."

"Even that mother giving us her seat, and things like that — just above and beyond kindness," she adds.

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Since posting, Gabrielle's TikTok video has amassed more than 5.7 million views and 6,000 comments. She says that reading through people's responses expressing how this "restored their faith in humanity" warmed her heart.

"People just saying, 'Wow, it's not all bad out there. There are good people. Thank you for reminding us,' " she recalls. "And I feel like that was the overall vibe of what people got from the video."

"Some of the other comments were much more negative," she continues. "People questioning why I would let strangers touch my child, or why I would put myself in unsafe situations. I think those people lacked context; they didn’t realize that I was stranded or that I was in the middle of the IT outage. They thought I was just being irresponsible by traveling and handing my child off to strangers."

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Looking back at the moments now, Gabrielle has realized that there will always be people in the world willing to help — you just have to open your eyes and find them.

"We all need to ask for help and lean on the kindness, maybe even the kindness from strangers, people we don't know," she says. "I think what stops a lot of people from accepting that help is being embarrassed."

"If I were on the other side of it, I would do the same," she says. "I would help people in that situation. Twenty years from now, if I'm traveling on an airplane and I see a young mom with a baby who needs help, I'd be the first one to step in. So, knowing that I'm willing to help as well, you don't feel guilty for accepting help."