Jimmy Kimmel reveals newborn son's heart defect in emotional monologue
Kimmel opened up about his newborn son's health complications on Monday.
— -- Jimmy Kimmel opened up about his newborn son's health complications in an emotional monologue Monday night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
The comedian said his son, William, was born with a heart disease that required surgery last Monday, three days after he was born.
The infant will have a second open-heart procedure within the next three to six months, he said during the 13-minute monologue.
Kimmel and his wife, Molly McNearney, discovered the condition when a hospital nurse noticed that the baby "was a bit purple" shortly after he was born on April 21, Kimmel said.
"The room started to fill up. More doctors, nurses, and equipment started coming in and they determined that he wasn’t getting enough oxygen into his blood," Kimmel said. "It’s a terrifying thing."
Fighting to hold back tears, Kimmel said a heart phonogram taken just hours after the baby’s birth revealed that William had a heart defect that would require surgery.
He shared the monologue in a tweet on shortly before midnight.
"My wife and I welcome a new baby and it is quite a story," he said in the post.
Luckily, Kimmel said the story “has a happy ending” and went on to thank the staff at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, where the emergency procedure occurred.
The doctor “went in there with a scalpel and did some kind of magic that I couldn’t even begin to explain,” he said. “He opened the valve and the operation was a success! It was the longest three hours of my life.”
Kimmel urged viewers to donate to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to help other kids with serious health conditions. He also made a plea for politicians, both Republican and Democrat, to make sure all Americans have access to medical care, especially those with pre-existing health conditions.
He thanked viewers for their donations and "lovely and loving tweets" in a Twitter post early Tuesday morning.
"On behalf of my family, thank you for the lovely and loving tweets about our son Billy and for your donations to [Children's Hospital Los Angeles]," he said.
“If your baby is going to die -- and it doesn't have to -- it shouldn't matter how much money you make,” he said. “I hope you never have to go there but if you do you’ll see so many kids from so many financial backgrounds being cared for so well with so much compassion.”