Zach and Tori Roloff recall the terrifying migraines that led to Zach’s emergency shunt revision in February 2023.
During the season premiere on Tuesday Little people, big world, Zach’s health begins to decline rapidly. He says that the biggest source of pain is in his head, and he has been dealing with migraines for a long time.
The 33-year-old was rushed to hospital after waking up with a headache that gradually worsened and caused him to vomit. He later learns that his shunt – a hollow tube surgically placed in his brain to divert fluid to his stomach to be reabsorbed – had two breaks.
In the confessional, Tori, 32, says she’s “never seen Zach in so much pain before,” adding that he feared he was “dying” with the faulty shunt. The lifespan of a shunt is 2-15 years, Tori says, and Zach was on “borrowed time.”
“We were sitting on a knife edge, and we just didn’t know it,” she says.
Zach eventually needed emergency surgery to replace the shunt.
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Zach Roloff after brain surgery in February 2023. Zach Roloff/instagram
LPBW’Zach and Tori Roloff recall how he ‘almost died’ before brain surgery last year
During his recovery, he says that his bones and muscles hurt. Tori also recalls the moment her husband’s heart rate dropped and said Zach “scared me” when he was “sobbing [and] screamed” during the health scare.
As Zach recovers, the couple admit they are now more aware of his condition and what to look out for.
“It all happened so fast and it’s good to be on the other side,” Zach says, adding that Tori “pulled herself together” and took care of the kids while he recovered.
The reality star also explains that his condition is “more intense with his children” and that he thinks about them all the time.
“They want to have their dad for a while,” he says. “Dads shouldn’t be making this much of an inconvenience for their family… this is not the time of life for a dad not to have surgery.”
Although his shunt was successfully replaced, Zach says on the show that he now “triggers” every time he gets a headache.
“It [would be] it’s very sad to think that Tori will have to explain [the kids] why isn’t dad here,” he says.
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Source: HIS Education