The mom of a toddler with special needs was left overcome with emotion after discovering what her daughter brought home with her from daycare.

Patricia Barbosa from London, in the U.K., shared a short video of herself to her TikTok, impatriciia3, in tears at the discovery.

Barbosa told Newsweek she first joined the social media platform to “share awareness” of what life is like for moms like her. “Being a parent and carer to special needs kids or kids who are disabled puts you in such a secluded bubble from other parents,” she said. “It’s a very lonely journey.”

For Barbosa, that journey began two and a half years ago when her daughter, who she chose not to name in this story, was born.

“She had a lovely uneventful birth but we very quickly realized she was poorly, only to then be told she had an airway disorder and dysphagia and needed surgery,” Barbosa said. “Her first year was very hard and she was very poorly and admitted to hospital for a lot of it.”

Barbosa’s daughter’s health has improved considerably since then. “Her airway has gotten better,” Barbosa said. “However she’s still medically complex, on medication, and tube fed. Therefore she attends a special needs nursery for kids with disabilities.”

It represented a big change for Barbosa’s daughter and one Barbosa felt a degree of anxiety about. “As you can imagine, before now she never really had the chance to interact with others and it’s been very sad to watch her grow and not have the same opportunities as others,” she said. “People stare a lot, she’s a little different to their kids so it’s been hard to get her included with other kids.”

Friendships are an important part of growing up for children, particularly when it comes to progressing at school. A 1990 study in the journal Child Development identified a link between making new friends in the classroom and gains in school performance while early peer rejection often led to less favorable perceptions of school.

That’s what made what happened that day so special and why Barbosa found herself in tears. It was the day Barbosa came home from a day at nursery with something unexpected in her possession: an invite to a birthday party.

That might seem like something small to most parents but to Barbosa it meant a great deal. “I was so emotional because I didn’t think the day would come where a little friend would be made and she’d be included in something so simple but so big for her,” she said. “I’m just happy someone saw beyond her disabilities.”

Barbosa shared the video of her reaction to her TikTok alongside a caption stating: “I am not okay.” Though she considers what happened among her “top five parenting moments” so far, the comments left on her post suggest there will be plenty more to come.

One viewer wrote: “Our autistic 10-year-old went to a party last Saturday, I said to the mom thank you for inviting him every year because nobody else ever does. she said ‘he’s always going to be there with our family.'”

Another said: “My 4-year-old son got his first invite last month. I warned the mom and she was super accommodating, she offered a play date first so he would get to know the house and them. My son was so happy.”

The icing on the cake for Barbosa has been her daughter’s reaction once she realized what it meant. “She was none the wiser but once I explained she was so proud of herself and started saying the word ‘friend’ over and over,” she said.

Barbosa hopes those going through what she has experienced as a mom can take some solace from her videos and understand that “things get better.”

“Life takes you on a journey and sometimes parenthood is not what you imagined or envisioned and that’s okay,” she said. “It’s okay to mourn the life you thought you’d get and it’s okay to take time to settle into a different looking life and that appreciating the little moments will always help.”