Long-distance can really take its toll on about any relationship, but particularly on marriages. This is compounded even more so if a spouse is in the military. Servicemen and women can be deployed at a moment’s notice and be kept from their families for months and even years, depending. So, when such a couple is finally reunited, it only makes sense that the moment should be extra special.

At least, that’s what one deployed husband thought when he decided to surprise his wife with his homecoming while she was at work.

Joshua Splinter is a Family Physician for the Texas Army National Guard. Last year he was stationed all the way over in Djibouti, Africa. In case you aren’t familiar, it rests near the horn of Africa, only a mere 8,500 miles away from Joshua’s wife back home in Texas.

Joshua decided his wife was due for a pleasant surprise.

After being stationed in Djibouti for over 5 months, Joshua got word he was going home early. While he couldn’t be more thrilled, he couldn’t share the good news with his wife, Alice, just yet. He had something more in store for her.

Instead, the army medic wanted to surprise her, and he decided to do it at the doctor’s office, where his wife is a pediatrician. Not only is Alice a hardworking doctor, but she is a hard-working wife, as well. While her husband was stationed nearly a world away, Alice worked tirelessly to finish her residency program. When the perfect job-offer came through, she packed the couple up and moved their things, and their lives, into a brand new city so she could start a brand new job.

With all that on her plate, we think it’s safe to say that she was probably missing her husband something fierce.

To pull off the surprise, Joshua decided to pose as a new patient of his wife’s.

Joshua was transported home by military aircraft and the journey took 40+ hours. One of the most difficult aspects of the surprise was when Joshua had to fib to his wife about timezones. Being that he wasn’t actually in Africa anymore, the medic had to lie to his wife during their daily chat. He said it was his bedtime when, in fact, they were in the same timezone again.

Given the circumstances, we think she’ll let that one slip. Joshua recorded himself once he arrived at his wife’s workplace and confessed that he was feeling more nervous than expected.

“I’m totally hyped. I’m way more nervous than I thought I would be,” he says.

Also, to successfully gain access as a patient without giving the surprise away, Joshua enlisted the help of a friend who also happens to be one of Alice’s colleagues. More than happy to help, the friend is so thrilled to be a part of the surprise that he is jumping with anticipation.

“I’m so EXCITED,” the friend says.

Trust us, though, when we say that he didn’t need to tell us. It’s written all over his face!

In one intense moment, a woman opens the door unexpectedly.

Thankfully, though, it was only one of the nurses. Joshua’s well-laid plans hadn’t been foiled yet. The friend hurries over to the door and prompts the nurse out with few words, then follows after her to go and get Alice.

Finally, a few moments later but what we’re sure seemed like eons to Joshua, the friend comes walking back in with Joshua’s wife, saying to him, “I’d like you to meet Dr. Alice,” as they walk through the door.

It takes less than a second to see the understanding register on Alice’s face.

The moment it does she lets her clipboard fall to the ground as she moves in on her husband for a giant bear hug. This Army medic went well out of his way and traveled across the world to be reunited with his wife, and from the reaction she gave, we’d say it was well worth it.

To see the heartwarming moment of their reunion for yourself, watch the video below.

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H/T: Shareably