In a rare moment, Jimmy Kimmel opened his late night show with a monologue that made him tear up. The host revealed his newborn son had an open-heart surgery after a nurse observed the boy seemed to have a heart condition.
It will be one of many surgeries for William John, or Billy, who was born to Kimmel and wife Molly McNearney 12 days ago. The 49-year-old dad said his son will still have to get another surgery when he's six months old and when he's in his teens. For now, however, the baby was out of the hospital and back home with his family, as per Today.
A nurse at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles heard the murmur in Billy's heart during a routine checkup and this murmur was common to newborns. "But she also noticed he was a bit purple, which is not common," Kimmel said.
The diagnosis revealed Billy had tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, as per ABC News. A hole in both the left and right side of Billy's heart blocked the pulmonary valves that distributed oxygen through his blood.
sincere thanks for the outpouring of love & support - Dr. Jane is keeping a close ear on Billy, who is very well - XO pic.twitter.com/QgSUminhmg
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 2, 2017
Kimmel admitted to his "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" audience he felt terrified while Billy was in surgery. Kimmel paused and teared up while delivering his monologue but he managed to also crack a few jokes. "Even that (expletive) Matt Damon sent flowers," Kimmel quipped about his "mortal enemy."
Kimmel also showed before and after photos of Billy in recovery, including one that had the baby attached to tubes and yet he was still smiling. "Poor kid, not only did he get a bad heart, he got my face," his dad joked, as per Los Angeles Times.
The father thanked the medical staff who oversaw his baby's recovery. He also brought up Obamacare in light of what he observed while at the hospital. "No parent should ever have to decide whether they can afford to save their child's life," Kimmel said. Watch his monologue about Billy's open-heart surgery below.
