Jimmy Kimmel shares poignant update on 7-year-old son Billy's health two months after undergoing third open heart surgery
Jimmy Kimmel has shared an update on how his seven-year-old son Billy is doing after undergoing his third open heart surgery in May.
The 56-year-old host's son - who he shares with wife Molly McNearney - was born with a congenital heart disease in 2017.
Jimmy told Entertainment Tonight: 'Billy's doing great, He had open-heart surgery, you know he's got the scars and everything, but he's just mentally right back where he was which is crazy.'
He added, 'Physically, you know, we're gonna have to be careful with him for a couple of months, but he's doing really well.'
Jimmy also touched on how children show their resilience at a young age.
Jimmy Kimmel has shared an update on how his seven-year-old son Billy is doing after undergoing his third open heart surgery in May - pictured together 2022
The 56-year-old host's son - who he shares with wife Molly McNearney - was born with a congenital heart disease in 2017
The 56-year-old told Entertainment Tonight: Billy's doing great. He had open-heart surgery; you know he's got the scars and everything, but he's just mentally right back where he was which is crazy'
'They're made of rubber, you know,' the comedian continued, 'everybody says that kids are so resilient and the doctors actually explained it to me which I don't know why it never occurred to me before because they're still growing.'
In May, Jimmy updated followers on how Billy was doing following his surgery.
'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 wrote on Instagram beneath a photo of his son smiling big while in a hospital bed.
After thanking Billy's doctors and the hospital staff, Jimmy continued, 'Walking around this hospital, meeting parents at their most vulnerable, children in pain and the miracle workers who do everything in their considerable power to save them is a humbling experience.'
The TV personality concluded his touching post, '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. Nothing matters more than taking care of each other. With love and gratitude, Jimmy.'
Jimmy first opened up about his son's heart condition after his birth, revealing that Billy had to undergo open-heart surgery at just three days old.
'Six days after open heart surgery, we got to bring him home, which was amazing,' the producer said in 2017 during an emotional monologue. 'He's doing great. He's eating, he's sleeping. He peed on his mother today while she was changing his diaper. He's doing all the things that he's supposed to do.'
Despite the scary news, Jimmy was still able to let his humor poke through.
The talk show host added about his and wife Molly McNearney's 7-year-old, 'Physically, you know, we're gonna have to be careful with him for a couple of months, but he's doing really well'
'Poor kid,' he joked. 'Not only did he get a bad heart, he got my face.'
The writer is also dad to 10-year-old daughter, Jane.
'We had a little girl, we named her after my grandmother - her name is Grandma Kimmel,' Jimmy teased to the audience in 2014 during his late-night talk show's opening monologue. 'She weighed 6 lbs., 1 oz. at birth. Twenty inches long, just above the legal limit — sometimes, they make you throw them back.'
He said, 'I've been taking somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 pictures of her a day. She thinks I'm with TMZ now.'
Taking a moment to talk about parenting in 2016, Jimmy shared during a conversation with People, 'Everything's great about it - even the bad things are great. When I come home, the level of excitement is something that you really can only get from a pet. She goes crazy.'
The writer has also gushed over his other half throughout the years: 'Happy Mothers Day Molly - we love you and appreciate the zillion things you do'
Taking a moment to talk about parenting in 2016, the dad-of-four said: 'Everything's great about it - even the bad things are great. When I come home, the level of excitement is something that you really can only get from a pet. She goes crazy'
Over the years, Jimmy has continued to share little updates on his family life, even admitting that Jane followed in his footsteps when it came to being interested in politics.
'My daughter actually, my daughter is 6 years old, and she was watching,' he said about the 2020 Presidential election. 'We had CNN on for like four days in a row. She's very interested in what's going on and she feels like she has a stake in it.'
And alongside his little ones, Jimmy has also gushed over his other half throughout the years.
'So it turns out, one should check with his significant other before posting a photo of said other in bed with wet hair and wearing reading glasses…,' the Academy Awards host wrote on Instagram, referencing a photo he shared of his wife, 'so now I have no choice but to employ the nuclear option: this photo of my beautiful, brilliant and glamorous wife shot by Mark Seliger. Happy Mothers Day Molly - we love you and appreciate the zillion things you do.'
