Tech Sgt. David Opperman had been deployed overseas to serve in the military, and this major change in their family’s life was not an easy one.
For the first time in their lives, Tech Sgt. David Opperman and his 13-year-old deaf daughter, Amber, would be spending days far from each other. David was informed of his sixth-month deployment overseas, and as much as he hated being away from his family, he knew he had to answer the call of duty.
After six months of deployment in the military, David surprised Amber by showing up at her school.
13-year-old Amber was attending Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and was in the middle of a Skype session with her dad, Tech Sgt. David Opperman, when she received a major surprise. She was only talking to her father online a few moments ago when she was caught off-guard as she saw that he was actually and physically in the same room with her!
“She’s basically saying [in the video], ‘I can’t believe you’re here. I missed you so much,'” Amber’s mom, Yvet Opperman, shared with ABC News. She translated her daughter’s sign language. “Me, I was teary-eyed. I almost couldn’t control myself. It was an emotional day, overall.”
Yvet shares that being far from her husband has been tough for her and their children. The couple has three children in total.
“Especially for Amber being deaf — that’s her first actual separation that she’s known of since she’s been born,” Yvet said.
When it was finally time for David to come home, he and his wife had planned to surprise Amber with his arrival. They made sure that Amber was at her school and it all happened as the young lady was having a Skype conversation with her military dad.
“Amber thought she was going to be surprising dad by bringing me into the video,” Yvet said. “In actuality, he was in the next room over — waiting to come in. We turned the tables.”
While father and daughter were busy video-calling each other online, Yvet sneakily made sure that someone held a camera to film the emotional reunion.
During their conversation, David put Amber on hold and walked off to surprise his daughter. And when he finally entered the room where Amber was, the young lady immediately saw her Dad and was in tears of happiness when she realized that he was actually in the same room with her!
It was definitely a heartwarming moment caught on film. The video of father and daughter reuniting after six months of being away from each other was just touching.
Both David and Amber hugged and signed how much they missed each other for the past half-year.
“They just continued talking and we took her home early,” Yvet said. “[David] was just happy to be home and back with the family.”
The distance can be very challenging for families, but there are times when these situations cannot be avoided. David may have times that he will spend far from home, but his heart always belongs to his beloved family.
Watch the heartwarming reunion of father and daughter in the video below!
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