Derek Hough Celebrates Christmas With Wife Hayley Erbert After Her Difficult Skull Surgery: “Hold Your Loved Ones Close”

Derek Hough enjoyed a much needed break at home for the holidays with his wife Hayley Erbert, who underwent an emergency craniectomy before Christmas.

In a post on Instagram where he has been updating fans about his wife’s difficult journey, Hough on Monday wrote, “cherishing the greatest gift of all. The precious gift of life and the love we share. Hold your loved ones close and treasure every moment.”

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Hough and Erbert, who were married in August, were performing their Symphony of Dance tour earlier this month when she became disoriented and was rushed to the hospital. She was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma from a burst blood vessel and required emergency surgery.

A craniectomy is a type of surgery to remove a portion of the skull to help relieve extra pressure on the brain.

“As you all know, the past week has been a challenging journey for us due to a life-threatening event that suddenly came into our lives,” he posted a week ago. “It was a time filled with uncertainty and fear, going from living our dreams onstage, to a nightmare in an instant. But today, we are filled with hope and relief as we share with you an update. Hayley is doing well. Her recovery process has been nothing short of a miracle. She still has a ways to go with another surgery, hopefully in a few weeks, to insert a skull implant to replace the piece that was removed during the craniectomy. It will restore the skull to its natural shape and protect the brain from injury.”

Like her husband, Erbert has been a dancer most of her life. While in high school, she competed in Season 10 of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance and was one of the Top 3 women. She went on to perform on awards shows and film alongside Carrie Underwood and Paula Abdul.

She joined Hough and his sister Julianne on two of their tours and later joined the Dancing With The Stars troupe.

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