Twins couldn't wait for Marine Dad to be back from Iraq

Marine from Perry flies home from Iraq deployment to greet his twins born 12 weeks premature
The Daily News
Jessica Dillon
February 3, 2018

“There were only a few hours when I was at work when I was able to communicate with people,” Dan said. “And then later on in the evening I’d be able to call, or her mom would call and give me the latest update, but it was definitely interesting living everything through Facebook Messenger.”

ROCHESTER — Perry native Daniel Cooley, a U.S. Marine on a several-month deployment to Iraq, woke to a buzzing phone in the early hours of the morning, dry desert heat already rising with the sun.

The screen lit up with one message after another — variations of ‘Michaela is on her way to the hospital,’ and ‘Hey Dan, just so you know, Michaela is in the hospital,’ poured in urgently from family and friends. They gave no further explanation.

“I was like, ‘OK, uh, cool,’” Dan said. And then, as duty called, he set off for another 10-hour workday, his thoughts drifting the thousands of miles back home to his wife, now six months pregnant with two unborn baby boys.

Things there were chaotic. The contractions Michaela had originally thought were just a false alarm became increasingly worrisome. Doctors at Strong Memorial Hospital did their best to get a handle on things, but nothing seemed to be working.

The Ronald McDonald House has provided Dan and Michaela with a place to stay so that they don’t have to make the hour drive into Rochester each day to visit their babies, where they’re now spending the majority of the day, every day.
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