Hayley Erbert Hough reflects on the highs and lows of the past year since her medical emergency in December 2023.
The professional dancer, 30, shared on Instagram that she has “so many mixed emotions and feelings about this whole year” after undergoing emergency surgery for a hematoma on her skull.
“I have never experienced more struggle and heartbreak in my life while simultaneously feeling so much growth, love and purpose,” she wrote alongside a montage of moments from the year. “This year was not easy at all, but it was so necessary.”
She continued: “Grateful for every moment; the hard ones, the beautiful ones and everything in between. Let’s take these lessons into the next chapter. ♥️”
Derek Hough and wife Hayley make emotional reunion with doctor who saved her life a year after brain haemorrhage: ‘Beauty is all around us’
The post featured a video — set to Coldplay’s “Fix You” — featuring moments from her life, including her triumphant return to the stage with husband Derek Hough, the pair sharing a sweet kiss, and the ups and downs of her recovery journey.
The comments section was filled with support for Hayley.
“What a year my beautiful family – I’m grateful to be on this journey of life with you two ❤️,” shared sister-in-law Julianne Hough.
“Wow, what a year of love, pain, healing and growth. I love you both ❤️” Derek’s ex Dancing with the stars partner Amy Purdy wrote and Nina Dobrev added, “What a year 🥹🤍🥲”
Derek Hough (L) and Hayley Erbert Hough perform during Derek Hough’s Dance for the Holidays tour stop at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on December 20, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ethan Miller/Getty
The announcement comes less than a month after Hayley and Derek returned to the venue in Washington DC where Hayley was rushed to hospital following their performance. She was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma due to a ruptured blood vessel and underwent an emergency craniectomy, which Derek then revealed in a social media post.
“It’s been exactly a year since Hayley almost lost her life,” Derek, 39, shared alongside a video of the pair on stage. “We are back on the same stage, in the same room where we once felt so much fear and uncertainty. The place where I stood frozen, terrified, praying for a miracle.”
In the video, he explained how returning to the same stage allowed the couple to “change the story…into something beautiful,” before calling Dr. Mai – who he said “saved Hayley’s life” – to join them on stage.
Hayley Erbert was still in her dancing costume when she was rushed to hospital with a brain haemorrhage: ‘Sheer fear’
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From left: Hayley Erbert and Derek Hough on ‘Dancing with the Stars’.
Disney/Eric McCandless
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“We changed the story of that room. We transformed it, from fear to beauty, from uncertainty to faith, and from despair to triumph,” Derek wrote in the caption.
He credited his wife — whom he married just four months before her emergency surgery — for her “resilience, strength, courage and sheer elegance in going through this experience,” as he wrote, “Every day I’m in awe .”
“One year later, standing on the same stage, we know this: life is fragile, love is everything, and we are stronger than ever,” he concluded.
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Source: HIS Education