Amy Purdy Dances with Former DWTS Partner Derek Hough After Battle to Walk Again: ‘Life Is Such a Journey’

Amy Purdy is dancing again!

The Paralympic snowboarder and motivational speaker, 43, reunited with her ex Dancing with the stars partner Derek Hough on his Symphony of Dance tour in Lincoln, Nebraska, Saturday night.

Picking up right where they left off almost ten years ago, DWTS finalists, who were runners-up on the 18th season of the ABC reality show, danced together in a moment that meant a lot to Purdy.

Alongside a video of the duo dancing in an empty cinema, Purdy wrote: “After injuring my leg 4 years ago and enduring over 10 surgeries, I had no idea if I would ever walk comfortably again, let alone dance again, and tonight not only I walked in to the movies but danced again with my friend and DWTS partner @derekhough.”

“Life is such a journey,” she continued. “Or as Derek says ‘life is a symphony!’ Let this be a reminder that whatever you’re going through, keep going!”

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On her Instagram Story, Purdy shared multiple clips of the reunion DWTS partners garden and dive, along with which she wrote: “Wow, it’s been about 10 years since I did that” and “Do we still have it??”

Hough’s wife, Hayley Erbert, and Purdy’s husband, Daniel Gale, both cheered the couple on as they danced.

“This is the first time I’ve danced since my leg injury,” Purdy added on her Instagram Story. “It made me cry. Whatever you’re going through, just keep going.”

Hough, 38, also sweetly greeted Purdy during her show and the Paralympian returned the favor, praising her former partner’s tour and calling him “talented, creative and passionate”.

Amy Purdy and Derek Hough in ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 18.

Adam Taylor/Disney General entertainment content via Getty

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Back in 2021, Purdy — whose legs were amputated ten inches below the knee after contracting bacterial meningitis at age 19 — opened up to PEOPLE about her battle to walk again. At that time, the battle had already lasted seven operations and two years.

“Twenty years ago when I lost my legs and kidneys and almost lost my life, I never said ‘Why me?’ Two years ago — that was the first time,” she said.

In February 2019, Purdy felt severe pain in her left lower leg. I was healthy, strong, I boarded and traveled the world as a motivational speaker, she said. “I was at the top of my game and then the rug was pulled out from under me.”

Selma Blair on her Paralympian friend Amy Purdy: ‘She teaches me not to be afraid’

Amy Purdy 2023

Frazer Harrison/Getty

After she realized that her left leg was hurting, not her left prosthesis, she went straight to the emergency room. There, doctors discovered a massive blood clot from her hip down through the arteries of her left leg and immediately operated on her.

At the time, Purdy wasn’t sure when she would be able to stand on her prosthetic leg again — or how soon she would walk again.

“I realized that I could inspire even more by being vulnerable and sharing my journey along the way,” she said. “But you can’t just be focused on the outcome. I’m not entirely on the other side, but I also know that resilience isn’t just about standing on top of a mountain and saying ‘Yes, I did it’ because then you look at the horizon and you have more mountains to climb.”

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Source: HIS Education