One tough cookie! Little People, Big World‘s Tori Roloff shared how “proud” she is of her son, Jackson, as he continues to recover from his surgery to “help correct the bowing in his legs.”
“This kid is absolutely [killing] it. I am so proud,” Tori, 30, shared via Instagram Stories on Thursday, December 2. In the video, Jackson, 4, powers along with the help of a walker.
“I’m so proud of you, J!” Tori said in the video. “Look at you!”
The soon-to-be mom of three elaborated further on Jackson’s procedure in the bottom caption of the video.
“For those who will notice: the surgery was to help straighten his legs over time. It was the less invasive surgery (thank goodness) and easier all around on baby J,” she wrote. “So we won’t see a difference for a while but he is so resilient and is taking it all like a champ.”
On Tuesday, November 30, the photographer revealed that her and Zach Roloff’s eldest child had undergone a procedure.
“Our sweet Jackson had surgery today to help correct the bowing in his legs,” Tori wrote alongside a photo of Jackson in a hospital bed at the time. “This kid time and time again blows us away. He was so brave and confident. He made [Zach] and I so proud as he talked with the doctors and nurses and was wheeled away without worry.”
Tori admitted it was one of the “hardest” days she had ever experienced.
“Watching your child in pain is never something a parent wants to go through,” the photographer wrote. “However, we are trusting his doctors and our Lord that this was the best decision for him.”
Jackson and his sister, 2-year-old Lilah Ray, like their father, Zach, 31, were born with achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism. Bowed legs are a common side effect of achondroplasia, which Zach also experienced.
The parents made sure to watch Jackson’s growth to avoid the painful procedures that Zach experienced. When the reality star was still a child, he had his leg broken in three places to have metal plates inserted into his legs to help them straighten.
“As you can imagine, the recovery was painful. I had to take lots of painkillers and I slept a lot,” Zach previously said of the experience.
During season 2 of the reality show, Zach had to have screws added to his legs to help with his mobility.
To avoid the same experience, the couple were proactive in monitoring Jackson’s health. During a previous episode of LPBW, they discussed how early action might lead to a better quality of life for their son.
“I think with Jackson’s legs, it’s mostly just like, I don’t want it to get to a point where he’s hurting because I’m pretty sure it’s gonna have to be dealt with at some point in his life, and I just want to make sure that we’re ready to move on it,” Tori said to Zach at the time. “I just don’t want to let it go too far. I want to know how to avoid two surgeries like you had.”
On November 17, Tori shared the happy news that she and Zach are expecting baby No. 3 and discussed the possibility that their third child will also be born with achondroplasia.
“We won’t know if he or she is a dwarf until further into pregnancy,” Tori told a fan during a Q&A on her Instagram Stories at the time. “And with dwarves it’s encouraged to have a [C-section] because of bigger head size. I was saying, I’d love to not know [the baby’s gender or if they have a form of dwarfism] but IF my [doctor] says I need a [C-section,] it would be obvious to us.”