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Jimmy Kimmel gives an update on his son Billy five years after his life-saving surgeries: ‘He’s doing well…he’s a really funny kid’
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More than five years after his son Billy underwent life-saving surgery, late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel offered fans an update on his son’s health.
Kimmel, 54, and his wife Molly McNearney welcomed Billy in April 2017, although Billy was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) just hours after his birth.
Billy had his first successful surgery just three days after he was born, with Kimmel offering an update for e! at the 2022 Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Gala at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.
Update: More than five years after his son Billy underwent life-saving surgery, late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel offered fans an update on his son’s health
“He’s doing great. He is a very funny boy. He loves Spider-Man, jumps on my head and does all the things we tell him not to do,” Kimmel began.
He said Billy is doing great because Los Angeles Children’s Hospital has “restored his heart.”
“The heart is a super important part of the body, so we’re very lucky to live in a city with a great hospital and great doctors, and I think it’s important to support the children’s hospital,” Kimmel added.
Great: ‘He’s doing great. He is a very funny boy. He loves Spider-Man, jumps on my head and does all the things we tell him not to do,” Kimmel began.
“They’ve done a really good job of refurbishing them, so we’re very grateful,” Kimmel added, though his son isn’t completely over his medical problems yet.
“He needs one more open heart surgery, but he’s doing great. I tried to explain the heart surgery to him because he has a small scar in the middle of his chest and he has almost no interest in it,” Kimmel added.
There is no indication when Billy is due to undergo open heart surgery at this time.
Grateful: ‘They fixed them really well, so we are very grateful,’ Kimmel added, although his son is not completely over his medical problems yet
Farrot’s tetralogy is a rare congenital heart defect, which doctors first noticed in Billy because of his purplish appearance — called cyanosis — just hours after he was born.
The condition is found in only 0.02-0.04% of births, or about 200 to 400 cases per million live births.
One of the most notable cases of TOF, aside from Billy, is of snowboarding legend Shaun White, who was born with TOF.
Rare: Farrot’s tetralogy is a rare congenital heart defect, which doctors first noticed in Billy because of his purplish appearance – dubbed cyanosis – just hours after his birth
Kimmel brought his son to the show in late 2017 when he was just eight months old, showing the audience how well he was doing.
Kimmel also shares eight-year-old daughter Jane with McNearny, whom he began dating in October 2009.
They became engaged in August 2012 and married in July 2013.
Son: Kimmel brought his son to the show in late 2017 when he was only eight months old, showing the audience how well he was doing