Jimmy Kimmel celebrated his son’s 5th birthday by paying tribute to the doctors who saved the boy's life.
The late-night talk show host posted an adorable photo of his son, Billy, smiling wide at the site of his little birthday cake. But the caption honored the medical professionals that provided Billy life-saving care following his birth in 2017.
"Happy 5th birthday to our little nut," wrote Kimmel. "We are eternally grateful to the brilliant doctors and nurses at @ChildrensLA & @CedarsSinai for saving Billy's life and to those of you whose donations, prayers and positive thoughts meant everything. Please support families who need medical care."
As fans may know, Billy had an open-heart procedure during his first week of life. As Today reported, after his birth, a nurse detected a heart murmur and a purple skin tone – main symptoms of a congenital heart defect called
tetralogy of Fallot.
Eleven days later, Kimmel addressed his audience about the terrible situation, holding back tears and explaining in part, “Billy was taken into surgery, where a doctor fixed one of the two defects in his heart. It was the longest three hours of my life.”
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Billy has gone through multiple heart surgeries since then, an experience which has made Kimmel and his family staunch supporters of the Affordable Care Act, signed into law by former President Barack Obama in 2010. The law's central tenant ensures that health insurance companies can’t deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, like Billy.
No doubt the humor that pervades the Kimmel household has helped the whole family deal with the situation. The 54-year-old is already prepping his son for a possible comedy career.
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In January, 2021, during a hilarious filmed-at-home skit called “Workplace Harassment Training: Working from Home,” Kimmel brought Billy into the skit where the little funster slurped his juice, crawled around on a table, and generally ignored dad’s attempted workplace harassment training session.
Kimmel shares Billy and seven-year-old daughter Jane with his wife Molly McNearney. He also has a 30-year-old daughter, Katie, and a 28-year-old son, Kevin, from his previous marriage.
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