Sheryl Pardo was compelled to fly amid the coronavirus pandemic to be at her dying mother's side. Her American Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to Bostontransformed into a positive experience as Pardo was the sole passenger on board.

Pardo, 59, received private jet treatment as two flight attendants, Jessica and Dion, ensured the March 27 flight was special. She was bumped to first class and addressed personally over the loudspeaker.

"We have Sheryl as our passenger today!” flight attendant Jessica announced over the loudspeaker as Pardo cheered. “Living it up in first class, mama! Everybody shout out to Sheryl, the only passenger on the plane."

Later in the flight, the captain addressed the sole passenger with a flight update, saying, "Sheryl, we are now up to 10,000 feet."

Pardo and the flight attendants even took a selfie together, standing six feet apart to ensure necessary social distancing. (The angle makes them appear closer.)

"I was obviously anxious about seeing my mom for the last time, so it was kind of awesome to just laugh," Pardo told CNN. "I think in moments like this, the pain of losing your mom is exacerbated by being in this frightening time. Other people's kindness is what's going to get us to through this."

Pardo arrived in Boston and was able to spend the day with her mother, 83-year-old Sandra Wilkins, who was in a hospice.

"This is not a tragic situation, because my mom had dementia and had really been declining," Pardo said. "She was living in a stage of life she would not have wanted prolonged, and she was in hospice."

Her mother, a nurse who spent years helping refugee families in the U.S. and volunteered in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, died the next morning, on March 28. Pardo and her family are planning a memorial for their mother in the summer.

She returned from Boston on a 10:30 flight the same night she arrived, once again the sole passenger.

"It's been fun to have people care about this story and to get to elevate the flight attendants who have a really hard job and who I'm sure scared going to work right now," Pardo said. "I want them to know how much it meant to me."