'Little People' Tragedy: Matt Roloff Tells All On 'Miracle' Brother's Tragic Death
Matt Roloff's younger brother Joshua's grave health problems led to his untimely death, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal.
"When Joshua was born — about two weeks before Christmas in 1964, when I was over two years old — my parents faced more childbirth trauma," Matt detailed in his memoir, Against Tall Odds: Being A David In A Goliath World. "Only this time it was the uncertainty over whether their new baby would ever make it out of the hospital alive."
"Not long after the delivery the doctors diagnosed Josh as having severe heart and lung problems they thought would probably take his life before he was a day old," he wrote, noting that Joshua was released from the hospital two days before the holiday.
Matt, 55, described how he spent years in-and-out of hospitals with Joshua, but no procedure could save his brother.
"He has undergone several major surgeries, some by doctors who believed they could correct his condition, only to find out that his condition couldn't be corrected," he recalled. "He underwent another surgery to repair a brain abscess, and it was a miracle he lived through that. He also has scoliosis, a condition his doctors say could make it even more difficult for his heart and lungs to function as it worsens. He is faced with a true dilemma: He can risk his life undergoing corrective surgery for the scoliosis, or he can face eventual death as his spine curves more, making it harder for him to breathe."
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"He's had many close calls with death, and Mom has had to resuscitate him more times than she cares to remember," he continued. "Many times Josh's heart and lungs have simply stopped functioning on their own, and on other occasions he's had seizures that would have taken his life had someone not been there to help him."
The Little People, Big World star's brother died as a result of his health problems in 1999 at just 34-years-old.
Unfortunately, the Roloffs experienced even more health problems after Joshua's death. Zach, 27, has had at least seven surgeries because of his dwarfism , and almost died from having excess fluid in his brain as a child. Matt's youngest son Jacob also had surgery after he was "clonked" by a trebuchet on his family's farm.
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