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He said that he had tetralogy of Fallot. It is a rare disease that affects about 5 in 10,000 US children.
Kimmel recounts the events, saying that his son, Billy, had an easy birth. His wife and his daughter were playing with him in the delivery room. The nurse came in to check on him later but got worried. It was because Billy was purple from lack of oxygen. She escorted Kimmel out and talked to some of the doctors. They knew that it was either a lung problem or a heart problem.
Kimmel said he hoped it was a lung problem because newborns are often born with fluid in their lungs, and they can get rid of that, but no. Billy actually had a wall missing inside his heart that separated the two sides. It’s called the tetralogy of Fallot, and it was devastating news.
The surgeon was called over, and Kimmel’s son had open heart surgery, one of three, and is currently recovering at home.
He was overwhelmed with happiness, saying “Six days after open heart surgery, I got to take him home which was amazing. He’s doing great, he’s eating, he’s sleeping, he peed on his mother today while she was changing his diaper.”
“If your baby is going to die, and it doesn’t have to, it should not matter how much money you make,” Kimmel said, while he fought tears. “I saw a lot of families there. And no parent should ever have to decide if they can afford to save their child’s life. It just shouldn’t happen. Not here.”
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! https://t.co/77F8rZrD3P
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) May 2, 2017
on behalf of my family, thank you for the lovely and loving tweets about our son Billy and for your donations to https://t.co/HOIUvNt8WE XO
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) May 2, 2017
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
I am thankful to love and be loved by these two brave guys. Both criers. pic.twitter.com/NL0C3K3Q4E
— Molly McNearney (@mollymcnearney) May 2, 2017
Whatever your party, whatever you believe, whoever you support. We need to make sure that the people who are supposed to represent us, and the people who are meeting about this right now in Washington understand that very clearly. Lets stop with the “Nazis!”. This isn’t football, there are no teams. We are the team. It’s United States. Don’t let their partisan squabble divide us on something every decent person wants.
