Jimmy Kimmel reveals newborn son’s heart defect

Jimmy Kimmel reveals newborn son’s heart defect

 

Jimmy Kimmel and his wife welcomed to the world their newborn son, William.  William, was born with a heart disease that required surgery last Monday, three days after he was born.  Jimmy Kimmel opened up about his newborn son’s health complications in an emotional monologue Monday night on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

He had open heart surgery Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.  Accorinding to Jimmy, “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

William will have to have a second open-heart procedure within the next three to six months.  And again when he is older.

He thanked every doctor, nurse, family member and friends who reached out and said a prayer for him and his family or helped in any way.

He did eventually of course turn toward politics, decrying the idea that anyone should be denied access to health insurance and to coverage for pre-existing medical conditions, about which President Trump has been unclear.

 

He said, “We were brought up to believe that we live in the greatest country in the world, but until a few years ago, millions and millions of us had no access to health insurance at all. Before 2014, if you were born with congenital heart disease like my son was, there was a good chance you’d never be able to get health insurance because you had a pre-existing condition. You were born with a pre-existing condition. And if your parents didn’t have medical insurance, you might not live long enough to even get denied because of a pre-existing condition.

If your baby is going to die, and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make. I think that’s something that, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?”

“This isn’t football,” Mr. Kimmel added. “There are no teams. We are the team, it’s the United States. Don’t let their partisan squabbles divide us on something every decent person wants.”