As fans of late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel may know, his son Billy has had two open-heart surgeries to address his ongoing heart condition. At only 5 years old, Billy has overcome so much and it’s clear how proud Jimmy is of his son.
While attending the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Gala, the TV personality gave a health update on his son while praising all the amazing healthcare workers who work miracles every single day.
Jimmy Kimmel and his wife Molly McNearney had a difficult first year with their son, Billy, when he was born in 2017.
Billy had to undergo three heart surgeries (one when he was just three days old) after he was born with the congenital heart condition, tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, as reported by People.
In April 2018, Jimmy did a candid interview with Oprah’s “O” magazine, where he spoke about the challenges he and his wife had to overcome.
“There were secrets we kept from each other that we revealed only after the second surgery. The biggest one was that, I think subconsciously, we didn’t want to get too close to the baby because we didn’t know what was going to happen,” he shared at the time.
After such an emotional road, the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host is giving fans an update on how his son is fairing now.
While attending the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Gala this past weekend, the 54-year-old dad shared a health update with ET.
“Billy’s doing great. He’s perfectly normal — I shouldn’t say he’s normal, he’s not a normal kid, he’s a weird kid, but his heart is fine,” the comedian joked.
“He’s a little screwy, that’s all we’re worried about right now. He’s doing great. He still has to have another surgery.”
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As for how his son compares to other kids his age, Jimmy insists Billy is just like any other 5-year-old.
“People — I think they’re very hesitant to ask me about him, and they’re like ‘Is he okay?’ And he’s honestly no different physically than any of the other kids,” the late-night talk show host explained.
“He can play sports — he doesn’t want to, but he can. He’s always dancing and jumping around, and we wrestle all the time.”
“He’s fine, except for what’s going on with his heart, he’s perfectly fine,” Jimmy added.
We’re so glad to hear he is doing well!
h/t: ET
