One of the most challenging sacrifices our military makes is being separated – sometimes by thousands of miles – from their families.
Husbands miss their wives, fathers and mothers miss their children, sons miss their parents and siblings… it can be a difficult turn of events for even the hardest of souls.
Plus, it’s not just about wanting to be with someone. Service men and women often have to skip milestone days in the lives of those they love; weddings, funerals, and sometimes even births.
The latter was likely on Skyler Cooper’s mind as he served in Kuwait for seven months as a member of the Kansas Army National Guard. His wife Cydney was pregnant at the time and with two young sons, Leighton and Corbett, to look after, stress was increasing.
Cydney Cooper / Facebook
You see, Cydney was pregnant with twins. Plus, according to Her View From Home, she expected Skyler to come home in late spring.
But things took an unexpected turn when she contracted the flu at just 33 weeks and was forced to give birth prematurely. Babies Emma and Kyla had to stay in the NICU, but Cydney had to go home because she had two other children to care for.
She was definitely a busy woman when she did this, with all the to-and-fro with the hospital.
In her words, she was “hanging by a string” at this point.
Cydney Cooper / Facebook
Little did she know that a welcome surprise was waiting for her around the corner. One day, while sitting in the hospital with one of her two-week-old babies in her arms, she received a text from her husband asking how they were doing.
Moments later, Skyler himself entered the room, holding an American flag balloon and flowers.
He had been planning the surprise for a few weeks, but even he couldn’t predict how his wife would react.
Cydney told Good Morning America: “I was in shock. I felt like I had to almost take a breath again. I had been bouncing around so much between our boys and the girls, I was also relieved.”
But wait! It’s getting better. The parents were then able to surprise their two sons and film it.
As one might expect, it was emotional to say the very least. Grab the tissues and watch the video below:
“1000s of miles, 1 solo pregnancy, and delivery, 48392 Skype calls, some superheroes, a few plane rides, 12 NICU days, tons of help from family and friends, and many tears later,” Cydney wrote on Facebook. “A soldier came home.”
Cydney Cooper / Facebook
Our thoughts and prayers go out to this family, we’re so glad you were able to hold it together through a tough time!
