Matt Roloff, star of “Little People, Big World,” recently shared an update on his health scare with his followers. He posted a photo of himself in a hospital bed on Instagram and explained that complications arose during a routine upper endoscopy procedure to examine his esophagus.
The 61-year-old revealed that his stomach had unexpected twists and turns, requiring further medical care. While he didn’t provide specific details, he expressed relief that he didn’t need a computer chip and monitor installed. However, he mentioned that he had to take a break from work and stay quiet for a few days.
Matt’s son, Zach Roloff, also faced a health issue earlier this year. In February, Matt shared on Instagram that Zach was undergoing an important shunt revision procedure. A shunt is a tube implanted in the brain or spine to drain cerebrospinal fluid.
The family didn’t disclose further information about the treatment, but Matt reassured them that Zach was in good hands and asked for prayers for his son’s full recovery.
Matthew James Roloff is an American television personality, author, farmer, business entrepreneur, and motivational speaker best known for participating with his family on the TLC reality television program Little People, Big World. The show featured the Roloffs’ daily life. Roloff has dwarfism, as does his ex-wife Amy and one of their four children, Zachary.
Roloff was born with diastrophic dysplasia, a degenerative dwarfism that caused him to have fifteen operations as a child. He was born to Ron and Peggy Roloff, who are often featured on Little People, Big World. They are of average height as is his older sister, Ruth. His younger brother Sam, an artist and founder of Back-Story Underpainting, has diastrophic dysplasia and uses crutches to walk as well. His middle brother Joshua was born with severe heart malformation; he died in 1999 at age 34.
The Roloff family includes Matt, Amy, also a little person with achondroplasia, and four children: fraternal twins Jeremy and Zachary (born 1990), Molly (born 1993), and Jacob (born 1997). Zach, like his mother, has achondroplasia, while the other three children are of average height. Matt and Amy met at a Little People of America convention in 1987. The couple were engaged quickly and were married on September 12, 1987. In March 2014, the couple announced that they had separated. On June 5, 2015, the couple announced they would be divorcing. Their divorce was finalized in May 2016.
Roloff appeared as an extra in the movie, Under the Rainbow. He also appeared as an Ewok in the Star Wars TV movie Ewoks: The Battle for Endor. He is good friends with fellow little person and actor Martin Klebba, who appeared in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise and is also a member of a leading athletic club for little people, the LA Breakers