Los Angeles – A tearful Jimmy Kimmel turned his show’s monologue into an emotional recounting of his newborn son’s open-heart surgery — and a plea that all American families get the life-saving medical care they need.
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“It was a scary story and before I go into it, I want you to know it has a happy ending,” Kimmel assured ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” studio audience Monday as he detailed how his son’s routine birth April 21 suddenly turned frightening.
Several hours after his wife, Molly, gave birth to William John, a “very attentive” nurse at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center alerted the couple and doctors to the baby’s purple-ish color and an apparent heart murmur, the host said.
The baby’s lack of oxygen was either due to a lung problem or heart disease, Kimmel said, and it was found to be his heart.
“It’s a very terrifying thing,” he said. He was surrounded at the hospital by very worried-looking people, “kind of like right now,” he told the audience, one of the jokes he managed despite choking up and having to pause at times.
A test showed his son had a birth defect called tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia — a hole in the wall separating the right and left sides of the heart and a blocked pulmonary valve, Kimmel said. The baby, nicknamed Billy, was taken by ambulance to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles to undergo surgery to open the valve.
“The longest three hours of my life,” Kimmel said.
Billy will have another open-heart surgery within six months to repair the hole and then a third procedure when he’s a young teen, but he came home six days after the surgery and is “doing great,” Kimmel said. He shared photos of him with his wife, their 2-year-old daughter Jane and a smiling Billy.
After thanking by name the nurses, doctors and staff at the two hospitals, along with his colleagues and friends — “Even that (expletive) Matt Damon sent flowers,” Kimmel said of his faux rival — the comedian then gave an impassioned speech on health care.
He criticized President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health and praised Congress for instead calling for increased funding.
“President Trump last month proposed a $6 billion cut in funding to the National Institute of Health, and thank God our congressmen made a deal last night to not go along with that. They actually increased funding by $2 billion, and I applaud them for doing that,” Kimmel said. “Because more than 40 percent of the people who would have been affected by those cuts to the National Institute of Health are children.”
“We were brought up to believe that we live in the greatest country in the world, but until a few years ago, millions and millions of us had no access to health insurance at all,” he continued. “Before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease like my son was, there was a good chance you would never be able to get health insurance because you had a preexisting condition. You were born with a preexisting condition, and if your parents didn’t have medical insurance, you might not even live long enough to get denied because of a preexisting condition.”
“If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make. … Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?” he said.
Washington politicians meeting on health care need to “understand that very clearly,” he said. Partisan squabbles shouldn’t divide American on something “every decent person wants. We need to take care of each other.”
Former President Barack Obama took to social media, retweeting Kimmel and touting the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.
“Well said, Jimmy. That’s exactly why we fought so hard for the ACA, and why we need to protect it for kids like Billy. And congratulations,” he tweeted.
Kimmel said he would skip the rest of this week’s shows to be with his family while guest hosts take his place.
He was joined Monday by Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was a previously scheduled guest but jumped in to offer an illustrated description of Billy Kimmel’s heart problem. Also on the show at Kimmel’s request was Shaun White, the Olympic gold medal snowboarder who discussed overcoming the same heart defect as Kimmel’s son.
Its a sad and emotional story but liberals always used this tactic. Thats how Venezuela’s socialism big government to the rescue started with a do good sob story (to help the “people”) & now “the people” cant get food in the grocery stores.
“Before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease like my son was, there was a good chance you would never be able to get health insurance because you had a preexisting condition”
Not true that’s a lie. All new born babies are covered under their mom’s plan and are not considered pre existing conditions. Please fact check next time.
He is correct in criticizing Trump for cutting funds to the NIH.
I’m happy kimmel baby is gonna be ok and hope had a full recovery.
But this has nothing to do with obamaNOcare, health care is way to expensive for middle class.
There is nothing for free.
The government isn’t giving it for free they are taking from middle class hard working people.
Bleeding heart liberals, again are wrong!
Shame he had to use his story for political ends.
Fake News!
The medical procedure is not a pre-existing condition as the baby was covered by insurance from conception.
Also any baby born with this condition must be treated by the hospital regardless of insurance or ability to pay.
It should also be noted that as a result of the insurance companies being required to cover pre-existing conditions,the cost of insurance has skyrocketed causing many to forgo insurance altogether. Hence, in order to cover those with pre-existing conditions, others are left without any insurance whatsoever, for pre-existing or regular. Is that fair?
Don’t be a fool about vaccines. Thankfully so many childhood diseases have been eradicated or contained because of vaccines. You are probably too young to remember the hysteria over polio, seeing kids on iron lungs, seeing kids with their legs in braces etc..
Also I find it funny that so many frum people benefit from government entitlements like medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, WIC. Yet when I read all of the comments on frum sites, everyone is so quick to condemn the democrats etc..
Jimmy Kimmel is using his sick newborn to score political points for that aberration called Obamacare, & to increase his ratings. That’s despicable & low, even for a TV host.
Oh please show me one case where a newborn was denied a lifesaving operation in the U.S. Yes, there are a lot of flaws but in countries with socialized medicine if a sonogram shows a child with a congenital heart defect the baby is aborted. Yes, something should be done but choking American businesses is not the solution.
I wish the young man a long and happy life.
Kimmel is a LIAR!!
Leave me alone with these crocodile tears stories already.