Army doctor finds a clever way to surprise his pediatrician wife after coming home early

After spending five months deployed in Africa, Joshua Splinter found out he was going to get to return to the United States early, and thought the perfect homecoming should involve surprising his wife.

Alice Splinter is a pediatrician, and Joshua, a family physician for the Texas Army National Guard, had a friend set up an appointment, using a fake name. When Alice entered the exam room, she expected to see a new face, but instead saw a familiar one. "It took a second for me to take it in," she told Inside Edition. "I honestly almost passed out."

While Joshua was deployed, Alice moved their family to a new town so she could start her residency. "She was really just holding everything together while I was just out, you know, having fun," he said. After he came home but before he saw his wife, Joshua made sure to pretend he was still in another time zone, afraid he might tip her off. He didn't though, and ended up pulling "a great surprise," Alice said. "I'm happy to have him home." Catherine Garcia

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