Jimmy Kimmel shares birthday tribute to son Billy, five, years after tearfully revealing he had open heart surgery hours after birth: ‘We are eternally grateful to the brilliant doctors and nurses’
- The 54-year-old chat show host famously tearing up on his talk show when revealing the boy had open heart surgery just hours after birth in May 2017
- He shared a cute snap of his son staring at birthday candles on his butter cake with a sweet caption thanking the doctors and nurses who have saved his life
- Kimmel has been outspoken in trying to raise funds for children who are in need of medical assistance as he ended the post by encouraging his 2.5million followers to donate to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
- Back in May 2017, the star opened up Jimmy Kimmel Live with news that his wife Molly McNearney, now 44, had given birth to their second child, William ‘Billy’ Kimmel, on April 21, 2017 in Los Angeles
- He quickly broke down as he detailed the terrifying health troubles Billy had endured and that he had successfully undergone risky heart surgery after he was born
- At the time, Billy was rushed to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for emergency heart surgery which was a success
- The child was diagnosed with tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia and has had treatment ever since
- His heart condition would lead to over 60 doctor appointments and three heart surgeries, one of them at just three-days-old, as of October 2020
Jimmy Kimmel has shared a birthday tribute to his son Billy on his fifth birthday years after famously tearing up on his talk show when revealing the boy had open heart surgery just hours after birth in May 2017.
The 54-year-old chat show host shared a cute snap of his son staring at the birthday candles on his butter cake with a sweet caption thanking the doctors and nurses who have saved his life.
He wrote: ‘Happy 5th birthday to our little nut. We are eternally grateful to the brilliant doctors and nurses at hChildrensLA & edCedarsSinai for saving Billy’s life and to those of you whose donations, prayers and positive thoughts meant everything. ‘
‘Happy 5th birthday to our little nut’: Jimmy Kimmel has shared a birthday tribute to his son Billy on his fifth birthday
Sad: This came years after famously tearing up on his talk show when revealing the boy had open heart surgery just hours after birth in May 2017
Kimmel has been outspoken in trying to raise funds for children who are in need of medical assistance as he ended the post by encouraging his 2.5million followers to donate to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
He concluded: ‘Please support families who need medical care. Link in bio. ‘
Back in May 2017, the star opened up Jimmy Kimmel Live with news that his wife Molly McNearney, now 44, had given birth to their second child, William ‘Billy’ Kimmel, on April 21, 2017 in Los Angeles.
Reveal: Back in May 2017, the star opened up Jimmy Kimmel Live with news that his wife Molly McNearney, now 44, had given birth to their second child, William ‘Billy’ Kimmel, on April 21, 2017 in Los Angeles
‘It is a scary story … but it has a happy ending’: He quickly broke down as he detailed the terrifying health troubles Billy had endured and that he had successfully undergone risky heart surgery after he was born
He quickly broke down as he detailed the terrifying health troubles Billy had endured and that he had successfully undergone risky heart surgery after he was born.
‘It’s a scary story … but it has a happy ending,’ he said as he began a teary 15-minute opening monologue.
Kimmel, his wife, their two-year-old daughter Jane and Billy were in the recovery room three hours later at Cedars Sinai Medical Center when a nurse noticed a murmur in the newborn’s heart.
‘He appeared a normal healthy baby,’ he said.
‘He appeared a normal healthy baby’: Kimmel, his wife, their two-year-old daughter Jane and Billy were in the recovery room three hours later at Cedars Sinai Medical Center when a nurse noticed a murmur in the newborn’s heart.
Kimmel said the congenital heart disease meant his son had a ‘hole in the wall of the left and right side of his heart’.
‘My wife was in bed relaxing, a very attentive nurse at Cedars-Sinai heard a murmur in his heart and noticed he was a bit purple, which is not common.
‘(The doctors) determined he wasn’t getting enough oxygen in his blood, either in his heart or lungs. They did an x-ray and his lungs were fine, which meant his heart wasn’t. It’s a terrifying thing. ‘
‘They found that Billy was born with a heart disease.’
Kimmel said the congenital heart disease meant his son had a ‘hole in the wall of the left and right side of his heart’.
Sad: Kimmel is seen with Billy hours after his birth in April 2017
Billy was rushed to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for emergency heart surgery which was a success.
The child was diagnosed with tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia and has had treatment ever since.
His heart condition would lead to over 60 doctor appointments and three heart surgeries, one of them at just three-days-old, as of October 2020.
Lives are on the line: Billy’s heart condition would lead to over 60 doctor appointments and three heart surgeries, one of them at just three-days-old, as of October 2020
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