There’s nothing that quite compares to the happiness we feel upon hearing a child who has undergone life-threatening surgery beat the odds and come out smiling – and not fighting.
Such is the case for Jimmy Kimmel’s adorable son, Billy, who, ever since six hours after being born, has been recovering from open-heart surgery to fix a defect in this vital organ.
And now, as Jimmy has shown his almost-2-million followers on Instagram, his tough little tot has fought the good fight, coming out on top.
“Billy is three months old and doing great,” he captioned the happy snap on Instagram.
“Thanks for the love and support. Please remind your Congresspeople that every kid deserves the care he got.”
This comes just a little less than three months since announced the news of his son’s welfare on television, his voice cracking as he tried to swallow his tears.
We’re all used to seeing Jimmy Kimmel crack a funny (or seven) as the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! but on a recent screening of his Emmy Award-winning show, the comic couldn’t have been further from laughing.
Choking back tears, the 49-year-old told the very real and “scary” story of how his newborn son, William ‘Billy’ Kimmel, underwent emergency open-heart surgery.
“A little over a week ago, on Friday, April 21st, my wife, Molly, gave birth to a baby boy. His name is William John Kimmel,” he began, struggling not to cry.
“We call him Billy. He was an easy delivery – only six pushes out. He appeared to be a normal, healthy baby until about three hours after he was born.”
Jimmy then goes on to describe the fear he felt as his son underwent life-saving surgery.
“On Monday morning, Dr. Vaughn Starnes opened his chest and fixed one of the two defects in his heart,” Jimmy explained, in tears.
“He went in there with a scalpel and did some kind of magic that I couldn’t even begin to explain.”
“He opened the valve, and the operation was a success. It was the longest three hours of my life.”
Thankfully, sweet little Billy is now safe and well, with Jimmy even admitting, “He peed on his mother today while she was changing his diaper. He’s doing all the things that he’s supposed to do.”
We’re so glad to hear Billy is on the road to recovery!
