Dancing with the Stars couple Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert have returned to the dance studio three months after Hayley's brain surgeries.
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In the photo, Derek and Hayley were standing side by side with their backs facing the camera. Derek had his arm wrapped around his 29-year-old wife as she rested her head on his shoulder in the sweet black-and-white image.
Derek said earlier this month that Hayley is doing so well, there is a "possibility" she may rejoin him on his "A Symphony of Dance Tour" this year.
"I almost need to rename the tour to the Miracle Tour or something because if there's a moment where she's with us and joining us on stage, it's going to be unbelievably special," Derek told E! News on March 13.
"I don't know even know how I'm going to [get] through it. I'm an emotional guy."
In early December, Hayley became "disoriented" after a performance on the couple's "Symphony Tour" and was taken to the hospital, where she discovered she had a cranial hematoma from a burst blood vessel and required an emergency craniectomy.
A couple of weeks later, the pro dancer had a cranioplasty to replace a large portion of her skull that had been removed during her prior surgery.
Derek and Hayley made their first public appearance together when they went out walking in Los Angeles, CA, after her two surgeries on Saturday, February 3.
And on Monday, February 5, Derek and Hayley posted a lengthy Instagram video, sharing details about Hayley's journey to recovery, new look, and new "outlook on life."
Hayley allowed fans to see her shaved head and the large scar she has going down her middle part.
"[It's] a new scar, a new sac of fluid on the side of my face -- which is supposed to eventually go away, but right now it's still there," Hayley said with a laugh, showing that she was in good spirits.
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Derek pointed out how his wife, whom he married in August 2023, had a little bit of cerebral spinal fluid draining out of her head near her temple.
"I've also got a new skull," Hayley said. "But yeah, also a new outlook on life. Life is so precious. Just spend time with the ones you love. Hold them close because you never know what could happen."
Derek agreed and elaborated, "We've had the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, but I have to say that throughout this experience, this woman has been unbelievable. Her perseverance, her acceptance of the whole situation, and her strength -- it's been remarkable to witness firsthand."
"She really is a miracle and it has been miraculous," the Dancing with the Stars judge added, "and it's still a journey."
Hayley admitted that she was still having "really good days and really bad days" emotionally and physically.
"But I'm doing so much better every single day. Truly, there is so much progress every day and I'm so grateful for that," Hayley noted.
Hayley went to the hospital only one day after Dancing with the Stars aired its Season 32 finale on ABC, when Marvel star Xochitl Gomez and her professional partner Val Chmerkovskiy were crowned champions.
Derek and Hayley, who got engaged in June 2022 after more than six years of dating, told fans how much their support and prayers had meant to them via Instagram.
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"I believe that it's what got me through this a little bit faster. And it's helped me heal. It's what helped me stay positive throughout the entire experience."
RELATED LINK: 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' PROS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS: WHO'S DATING OR MARRIED TO WHOM!? (PHOTOS)
Hayley also teased that she and Derek will share more specific details about her health crisis at a later time.
"We will eventually share, but we're not quite there [yet]. But we will," Hayley noted.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
