Theres much more to a viral video that left millions of people heartbroken.

Last month, model and wheelchair user Bri Scalesse posted a TikTok that received over 16 million views. The video showed her friend Gabrielle deFiebre, a 32-year-old quadriplegic, crying after she flew from New York City to Phoenix on May 21 because Delta broke the wheels of her chair.

DeFiebre told HuffPost via email that airlines typically transfer a wheelchair user from their chairs into a plane seat, and then check their chairs into cargo for the flight.

My wheelchair is an extension of my body. It is the way I move through the world, deFiebre said, calling her chair a source of freedom.

Without it, I would be stuck in bed, she said. I wouldnt be able to roll around the city, see friends, take the subway or live my life.

She explained that her chair is built to her specific measurements, and with the wheels broken, it is useless.

They are higher-tech power-assist wheels, she explained. They have a little motor in them that helps me self-propel. As a quadriplegic with limited hand function on one side and no hand function on the other side, I require these wheels to get around.