Soldier surprised with wife 150 pounds lighter

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - An Army wife who lost over 100 pounds while her husband was away in Afghanistan surprisedthe soldier Wednesday when he arrived at Wilmington International Airport.

Misty Shaffer, who once weighed over 300 pounds,hasn't seen her husband in over a year. She hid her new look.

"I just kept pictures off Facebook, off the internet," Misty said. "When I did send him pictures, they were from the shoulder up."

Misty's new look wasn't the only surprise waiting for Specialist Larry Shaffer when he stepped off the plane. Their three year old daughter, Nevaeh, would look a lot bigger after a year.And the biggie---a new house.

"He's been wanting to buy a house now forever and I went and did it while he was gone," Misty said.

Then the surprise!

Shaffer was first greeted by his mom, BarbaraSuerken, who broke down in tears when she spotted her son coming through the terminal.

"It's been hard, but we got through it," Suerken said.

As Shaffer turned the corner to head in the direction of baggage claim, a throng of family and friends yelled 'surprise!' Then the crowd parted to let Misty through for the big reveal.

"Wow," Shaffer said after seeing his wife. "This is icing on the cakebecause I've been happy with the way she's looked since day one but it's something she wanted to do and she reached her goal," Shaffer said.

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Soldier surprised with wife 150 pounds lighter