During a powerful opening monologue, Jimmy Kimmel broke down in tears on his late-night show when he opened up about his newborn son’s health struggles and recent open heart surgery. On Friday, the Jimmy Kimmel Live host gave his followers an update on William “Billy” Kimmel and revealed that his youngest child is doing well just three months after he underwent open heart surgery as a newborn, according to People .
“Billy is three months old today and doing great… Thanks for all your love & support and please remind your Congresspeople that every kid deserves the care Billy got.”
Billy underwent the surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles because of his condition, the tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia .
Nearly three months ago, Kimmel shared the heartbreaking news with viewers. Kimmel’s news drew in much-needed attention to the importance of providing all Americans, especially those with pre-existing conditions , with adequate health care.
Billy is 3 months old & doing great. Thx for the love & support. Please remind your Congresspeople that every kid deserves the care he got pic.twitter.com/XcvvM6XFJ3
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) July 21, 2017
Kimmel explained, “Basically, the pulmonary valve was completely blocked and he has a hole in the wall between the left and right sides of his heart.” The star joked, “Poor kid. Not only did he get a bad heart, he got my face.”
In addition to Kimmel’s update, Jimmy’s wife and co-head writer, Molly McNearney, also posted an update with a different photo of their son bright-eyed and giggling, encouraging Americans once again to get involved in health care reform , according to the Huffington Post .
Billy’s looking out for a lot of his buddies at Children’s Hospital. Remind your Congresspeople to protect them. pic.twitter.com/UbFp2UgqGH
— Molly McNearney (@mollymcnearney) July 21, 2017
“Billy’s looking out for a lot of his buddies at Children’s Hospital. Remind your Congresspeople to protect them.”
Jimmy Kimmel and McNearney learned that Billy had congenital heart disease after he was born in April. The newborn boy immediately underwent a successful open-heart surgery when he was just three days old. The baby returned home to be surrounded by family and friends six days later.
“Before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease like my son was… there was a good chance you’d never be able to get health insurance because you had a pre-existing condition.”
Jimmy’s speech quickly went viral as the Republican-dominated Senate debated repealing Obamacare and replaced it with a new health care plan.
The plan threatened to cut funding for millions of Americans, in particular, those with pre-existing conditions.
“If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make… I think that’s something, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on.”
Kimmel also revealed that his son will likely need an additional surgery somewhere between the ages of 3- and 6-months-old.
[Featured Image by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images]
