Jimmy Kimmel took to his Twitter page to share a beautiful picture of his family after revealing his newborn son, Billy, was forced to undergo an emergency open-heart surgery. The image sees his wife Molly McNearney carry their newborn baby, while their two-year-old daughter Jane can be seen checking on her little brother with a toy stethoscope. "Sincere thanks for the outpouring of love & support - Dr. Jane is keeping a close ear on Billy, who is very well," the American chat show host wrote in the caption.
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His thanks comes one day after he revealed to viewers on his late night show that his son had to have a life-threatening open-heart surgery - just ten days after he was born. The 49-year-old opened his show on Monday with an emotionally-charged monologue to announce that he and his wife welcomed their little boy on 21 April in Los Angeles. "It was a scary story and before I go into it, I want you to know it has a happy ending," he began.
Hours after the arrival, Jimmy explained how a nurse at Cedars Sinai Medical Centre heard a murmur in the newborn baby's heart. "He appeared a normal healthy baby," he continued. "My wife was in bed relaxing, a very attentive nurse at Cedars-Sinai heard a murmur in his heart and noticed he was a bit purple, which is not common. [The doctors] determined he wasn't getting enough oxygen in his blood, either in his heart or lungs. They did an x-ray and his lungs were fine, which meant his heart wasn't. It's a terrifying thing. They found that Billy was born with a heart disease."
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Jimmy, who presents Jimmy Kimmel Live! and was the host of this year's Oscars, went on to reveal how terrified he was when his son Billy started to turn purple. Fortunately, his little boy went through open heart surgery at three days old and thanks to the efforts of the medical staff, the surgery was success. "Every one of my friends was there 100 per cent. We had atheists praying for us, okay? We had people who do not believe in God praying to him. And I hate to even say, but even that [explicit] Matt Damon sent flowers," he added.
Jimmy Kimmel and his wife Molly McNearney welcomed a little boy last month
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The TV star went on to urge the audience to donate to Children's Hospital Los Angeles and pleaded with politicians to make sure all Americans have access to healthcare - to support the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Shortly after the plea, former US president Barack Obama took to Twitter to post: "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!"