Derek Hough, Hayley Erbert perform on 'DWTS' almost 1 year after Erbert's health scare

Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert delivered a moving performance in the ballroom on Tuesday night's episode of "Dancing with the Stars."

The duo brought the "DWTS" audience to tears as they danced to Benson Boone's "Beautiful Things (Acoustic)" during the show's "Dedication Night," marking Erbert's return to the "DWTS" dance floor following her emergency craniectomy and cranioplasty in December 2023.

"Obviously this was the most challenging thing I've ever been through in my entire life, physically and mentally," Erbert said after their performance. "It was a lot on all of us as a family and I just -- you never know what you're capable of until you go through something like this."

"So I'm really proud of myself, I'm proud of my body and how I came through this," she added.

Erbert underwent an emergency craniectomy in early December 2023, while on their Symphony of Dance tour in Washington, D.C. At the time, Hough shared in an Instagram post that Erbert "became disoriented" and "was diagnosed with a cranial hematoma from a burst blood vessel and required an emergency craniectomy."

The procedure is typically performed in emergency situations, which relieves pressure on the brain, according StatPearls, an online library published in the National Library of Medicine.

Later in December 2023, Erbert underwent a cranioplasty, which according to the National Library of Medicine, "is the surgical intervention to repair cranial defects in both cosmetic and functional ways." It is performed "mostly after traumatic injuries."

"It was kind of a crazy time," Hough said, reflecting on Erbert's health emergency in a taped piece that played before their performance. "Hayley and I were heading back on the road for the final leg of the tour. Living out our dreams onstage, doing what we love with the person that we love, and then it just all came to a screeching halt in the most devastating way."

Hough, who calls his wife his "beautiful miracle," said that Erbert had to learn how to walk again and build her strength back.

Despite the challenges she faced, Hough said Erbert always "had a smile on her face."

"I was just so impressed by her strength," he said.

He added that the dance was "a moment for us to be together again onstage doing what we love."

"The fact that we're able to dance together again is nothing short of a miracle," Hough said. "I'm just beyond thankful. I'm so thankful."

Erbert called Hough her "rock throughout it all."

In February, the couple shared a video update on Instagram, in which Erbert talked about her "new outlook on life" and how "grateful" she is "to be alive and to be here to tell my story."

The duo returned to their Symphony of Dance tour in April. Since then, Erbert and Hough have been keeping their fans updated on social media.

In August, the couple celebrated one year of marriage and shared a joint Instagram post about their "whirlwind of a year."

"One year of being married to the most beautiful human I know," Erbert said in the caption of the post. "We've seen the highest highs and faced the lowest lows, but I've never been more certain that I made the best decision of my life a year ago, committing to you in this lifetime."

"Cheers to many more years of chaotic beauty," she added. "I'm so excited for all the future chapters we have yet to write. I love you always and forever."

See more sweet dedications behind each star's performance here.