Jimmy Kimmel has shared an update on his son Billy almost one year after the seven-year-old underwent his third open heart surgery.
The late-night talk show host, 57, and his wife Molly McNearney have experienced several difficult moments with their son after he was born with congenital heart defects, Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia.
The condition required Billy to have open heart surgery at just three days old and he has had two more operations since, having his third and hopefully final open heart surgery last May.
Speaking about Billy at Keep Memory Alive’s Power of Love Gala in Las Vegas, Jimmy revealed that his son is “in perfect health”.
“Billy is about to turn eight,” Jimmy told E! News. “He’s doing great. He’s very healthy.”
Jimmy shared news of Billy’s third surgery on Instagram and revealed at the time that the operation was a success.
“This weekend, our boy Billy had his third (of three, we hope) open heart surgery. We went into this experience with a lot of optimism and nearly as much fear and came out with a new valve inside a happy, healthy kid,” he penned.
“Once again Billy’s doctors, led by the brilliant surgeon Vaughn Starnes, cardiologist Tim Casarez and the excellent, hard-working staff, doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners at CHLA, including, but certainly not limited to Misty, Ann, Sylvia, Dana, Caleigh, Nick, Bekah, Julie, Kenny, Caroline, Lisa, Stephanie, Ellize, Ivy, Pam and Carrie came through for us with immeasurable kindness and expertise.”
© InstagramHe went on to explain that CHLS helps families regardless of their financial circumstances alongside donations from companies including Disney, adding: “Thank you Dr Paul Viviano – my family and I are so grateful to have you in our city and in our lives.
“Thanks to those loving strangers who took time to pray for and send positive energy to our baby, thanks to our family and friends for rallying around us to an almost-ridiculous extent, thank you to my wife Molly for being stronger than is reasonable for any Mom to be and Billy, you are the toughest (and funniest) 7-year-old we know.”
© InstagramTwo weeks after Billy’s birth in 2017, Jimmy shared the story of the terrifying ordeal he and his family went through in an emotionally charged monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“He appeared a normal healthy baby,” Jimmy explained. “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.
© Instagram“[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.”
He added: “Basically, the pulmonary valve was completely blocked, and he has a hole in the wall between the left and right sides of his heart.”
© Getty ImagesJimmy and Molly knew that the youngster would need three surgeries since he was a baby, with the chat show host previously telling The Hollywood Reporter: “We would like to get them over with and not have to think about it all the time, but it could definitely be worse.”
Billy had his second surgery in December 2017 and his third operation in May 2024, where he was fitted with a new valve in his heart.
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