LPBW’s Zach Roloff Admits Son Jackson’s Recovery From Surgery Has Been ‘Tough’

Jackson’s journey. Little People, Big World star Zach Roloff shared an update on how his son Jackson Roloff is recovering after undergoing surgery to correct the bowing in his legs nearly one year ago. 

“It’s tough because the screws in his legs help straighten the leg as he grows,” Zach, 32, wrote via Instagram on Tuesday, November 15, after a fan asked how Jackson, 5, was doing after the surgery. “For him he maybe grows a inch a year, so it’s tough to see and won’t be obvious for a while.”

The TV personality also noted that an “average person with the same recovery” as Jackson would “see the difference a lot quicker,” but his eldest son is still doing “good.”

Zach shares Jackson and daughter Lilah, 2, and son Josiah, 6 months, with his wife, Tori Roloff. All three of their children were born with achondroplasia, which is the most common form of dwarfism.

Jackson’s bowed legs are a result of his achondroplasia. He underwent guided plate growth surgery to correct the pain he experienced from his bowed legs in November 2021.

Tori, 31, took to Instagram at the time to share how Jackson’s procedure went. “This kid time and time again blows us away,” she wrote. “He was so brave and confident. He made [my husband] @zroloff07 and I so proud as he talked with the doctors and nurses and was wheeled away without worry.”

She then admitted that it still had been “one of the hardest days” that she and her husband ever experienced. “Watching your child in pain is never something a parent wants to go through,” Tori continued. “However, we are trusting his doctors and our Lord that this was the best decision for him.”

Both Zach and Tori have been open about their concern for Jackson over the years.  “There is legitimately something wrong,” the former schoolteacher revealed about Jackson’s recovery following during a June episode of the TLC show. “He isn’t progressing like they said that he would.”

They explained Jackson had the procedure to “slow down the growth and allow the bones to even out.” After their first-born child complained about pain, Tori decided they would “make sure that there’s no actual structural damage” by checking in with their doctor.

Meanwhile, Zach told his mother, Amy Roloff, that he wanted to “adjust” if “something isn’t healing right” before the couple welcomed their third child, son Josiah, in April.

While the parents have expressed their concerns, they have also shared positive updates about Jackson’s progress. Zach and Tori told Us Weekly in May that Jackson was “doing great.” They added that it will take about “four or five years” to see the change in his legs.