Suns help reunite military dad with 8-year-old son

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - "There you go, Ky, look inside that prize bag, all kinds of Suns goodies for ya."

This is how the Suns and Sanderson Ford packaged it all up, an "atta' boy" for 8-year-old Ky, who's been so strong while his father serves overseas.

"This is his fourth deployment and Ky is 8-year-old," Ky's mother, Melissa Abella, said. "So, he's gone a lot. Almost every six-to-nine months, dad's been gone."

So when mom Melissa heard that her husband, Tech Sgt. Omar Abella, was coming home after a year of separation, she wanted to make the reunion as special as possible.

"Just something so we could say thank you for Ky being so strong, and the bigger we can make it, it just makes Ky feel more proud of dad," she said. "It was really more about that. The feeling that Ky would get, more than anything else."

After another generous gift from the eager Suns' dancers, Ky's thank you from his mom was about to begin.

"Oh, I'm sorry Gorilla, I see Gorilla out there...did you have a gift for Ky as well?" The PA announcer asked.

"I thought it was like, a big figure, like a big toy," Ky said. "Yeah, like a replica of dad. That would have been cool."

"I was very nervous, excited to see my son, and hoping that I wouldn't be in the box any longer than 20 minutes," Tech Sgt. Omar Abella said.

"Ok, Ky, when you're ready, open your final gift," The PA announcer said.

"It was him," Ky said.

It's been two days since the reunion and Ky and his father are still inseparable. Their touching moment has been seen by thousands on social media and even on AZAM Monday morning.

"It's great that Ky's been strong, and I do appreciate Melissa, she's been a great mom, and helping out and creating all of this for us," Tech Sgt. Abella said.

Sgt. Abella will be deployed again in about six months.