This week on Little People, Big World, Zach and Tori Roloff will discover that their son, Jackson, will indeed need surgery on his leg, so what is their next step?
Zach and Tori sat outside with Jackson and Lilah when they remembered that Jackson’s appointment with a leg doctor was the next day.
Jackson’s parents have noticed that lately, he’s been walking more on the outsides of his feet due to a more pronounced bowing in his legs. Although he hasn’t complained of any pain or discomfort, they wanted to have him examined as a proactive measure.
The bowing in Jackson’s legs is very common for those with achondroplasia dwarfism, the condition Jackson was born with, like his dad, Zach, and grandma, Amy Roloff.
Zach and Tori disagreed over who should accompany Jackson to his appointment
Zach underwent two leg surgeries as a child, so he is more aware than Tori of what they can expect and what to be watching for in Jackson’s development.
For that reason, Zach felt as though he should be the parent to take Jackson to his appointment rather than Tori.
The couple bickered over who would be taking Jackson to his appointment, since only one parent was allowed in the visit, due to COVID-19 protocols.
Zach worried that Tori would “avoid” certain conversations at the doctor’s office if they would make her emotional, whereas Zach just wanted answers.
“Tori is someone who doesn’t want to hear bad news. So if it’s going that way or the feelings are going bad, Tori will divert and go somewhere else with it,” Zach confessed to the cameras.
“This is false,” Tori countered, “When it comes to my children’s health, I don’t divert and be like, ‘Nah, he’s fine.’ No.”
Zach wanted to ensure that both of them were “mentally prepared” for whatever may happen at the doctor’s appointment, like any tests they may want to perform.
The two bickered during their confessional, with Zach pointing out that he likes to be in the know with everything, while Tori felt as though Zach didn’t trust her to take Jackson solo to the appointment.
Zach felt it was a good thing that he wants to have his hand in everything
“I want to hear what my kid’s gonna go through or what the potential issues might be. And there is a feeling, ‘I know what this is.’ I’ve had the procedure, so I know what’s about to happen here,” Zach said.
Later, Tori video called Zach from the doctor’s office to give him an update. Jackson appeared on the phone screen and he told his dad that he “took pictures,” meaning he had x-rays done.
Tori filled in Zach on what the doctor had to say, “She definitely said, ‘Yes, there’s bowing.’ It’s just I think now a matter of do we do it now or do we wait?”
Jackson’s bowed legs are an issue, but not an emergency
Zach explained during his confessional that the doctor said Jackson’s legs were an issue but not an emergency. In Jackson’s case, his ankles are of concern, where most of the rounding is in his legs, meaning it could work in his favor.
Because of the location of Jackson’s rounding, it may mean that doctors will only have to operate on that one spot, rather than multiple spots.
Jackson was a good candidate for scraping of the growth plates, a surgery that Zach had done as a child, as well. By scraping the tissue, the hope is to slow further bone growth.
Scraping the growth plates would still be a painful surgery for Jackson, but not as painful as if he would have to have bones broken, like Zach underwent as a child.
If Jackson were to have his bones broken, he’d be in a cast for two months and have to re-learn how to walk. So obviously Tori and Zach, who recently vacationed with Matt and Caryn, wanted to avoid that surgery, if at all possible.
Since Jackson was deemed too young at three years old to have surgery at the time, doctors warned Tori that he will eventually need surgery. It’s just a matter of which type and when.
Little People, Big World airs on Tuesdays at 9/8c on TLC and Discovery+.