Back in May, Jimmy Kimmel took a break from the laughs during one of his nightly monologues to discuss his newborn son's medical condition.
Three days after William "Billy" Kimmel was born, doctors found that he had a blocked valve and a hole in his heart, a condition known as tetralogy of Fallot. The newborn had to endure a three-hour open heart emergency surgery to save his life.
Thankfully, his initial treatment was successful and little Billy got the chance to go home soon after. Jimmy shared his son's story on live television to highlight the importance of universal healthcare and raise awareness for the wonderful work that doctors and nurses across the nation are doing every day.
It's been 3 months since we last heard from Jimmy about his youngest child, but the late-night host has finally shared an update during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Click on the next page to read what Jimmy had to say about Billy's health.
After going through a few rough patches, things are looking up for the Kimmels. Jimmy and his wife Molly McNearney's baby is "doing great," but will need two more procedures to treat his condition.
"We would like to get [the surgeries] over with and not have to think about it all the time, but it could definitely be worse," said Jimmy.
Billy is 3 months old & doing great. Thx for the love & support. Please remind your Congresspeople that every kid deserves the care he got pic.twitter.com/XcvvM6XFJ3
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) July 21, 2017
In the last few weeks, Jimmy had the opportunity to bring Billy into the office for the first time and it was quite the experience.
"Young Billy made his first visit to our office today. He's juggling. He's translating Flaubert from French into English," the talk show host joked. "No "” he smiles. That's pretty much it. He is very interested in ceiling fans. He likes those a lot. I could get him to pay the same amount for Netflix just to watch ceiling fans."
Just like his monologue a few months ago, Jimmy also touched on the issue of affordable healthcare in the U.S. during this interview.
"I don't see what the difference between health care and education is. Every kid should have a right to an education. We don't seem to have a problem with paying for that," Kimmel told THR.
"I worry that these politicians don't care about the people they represent," Kimmel added. "I have spoken with so many people who strongly believe the reason they are alive or their brother is alive or their parents are alive is the Affordable Health Care Act. It's undeniable if you talk to people."
The host said he would like to invite President Trump on the show so he can talk to him about healthcare. "I would like to see, as a father and a person who prides himself on speaking the truth, what he thinks," he says. "If I were his next-door neighbor and I didn't have health insurance for my child, I find it hard to believe he would ignore that."
We're praying for baby Billy's speedy recovery after all those surgeries!