Jimmy Kimmel tearfully expressed gratitude Monday night, after explaining his family's heart-wrenching experience upon the birth of his newborn son William.
He opened Jimmy Kimmel Live with a serious monologue, announcing that he and his wife welcomed Billy to the world on Friday, April 21.
But moments after Billy was born, doctors noticed a heart murmur. The following Monday he went under the knife.
"Dr. Vaughn Starnes opened his chest and fixed one of the two defects in his heart. He went in there with a scalpel and did some kind of magic that I couldn't even begin to explain," Jimmy said while trying to hold back tears. "He opened the valve, and the operation was a success. It was the longest three hours of my life."
Though little Billy faces future surgeries later in life, Kimmel said right now he's in good shape.
"He's doing great. He's eating. He's sleeping. He peed on his mother today while she was changing his diaper," Kimmel said with a smile. "He's doing all the things that he's supposed to do."
Kimmel went on to say that no parent should have to decide if they can afford to save their child's life. He asked that his audience and viewers pray for all of the families in the country with sick children.
After last night’s emotion and powerful show, Jimmy will be taking the rest of the week off to be with his family and newborn son.
While he is off, a number of his friends will be filling in as guest hosts for the rest of this week. The guest host list is as follows:
- Tuesday, May 2nd – Will Arnett
- Wednesday, May 3rd – Anthony Anderson
- Thursday, May 4th – Kristen Bell
- Friday, May 5th – David Spade
