US TV host Jimmy Kimmel has opened up about his newborn’s son’s heart defect.
Kimmel told the audience at his show Jimmy Kimmel Live! that his wife Molly gave birth to a baby boy they called Billy last week, but shortly after the birth a nurse realised that the baby had a heart murmur and had turned purple.
Tests revealed that the little boy was suffering form a heart condition known as tetraology of fallot pulmonary atresia
“Basically the pulmonary valve was completely blocked and he has a hole in the wall between the left and right sides of his heart,” said Kimmel.
The little boy underwent heart surgery at just a few days old to help correct the problem and thankfully the operation was successful.
“It was the longest three hours of my life,” he said.
“They didn’t do everything, he’ll have to have another open heart surgery in three to six months.”
The family were able to take little Billy home six days after the procedure.
“He’s doing great. He’s eating, he’s sleeping. He peed on his mother today while she was changing his diaper – he’s doing all the things he’s supposed to do.”
The host also spoke about how his two year-old daughter Jane is adjusting to being an older sister.
“You can see Jane’s pretty excited about having another kid in the house,” he quipped.
Kimmel ended the segment with a message for US President Donald Trump, who has vowed to dismantle Obamacare, which gives access to health insurance.
“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,” he said.
“Before 2014, if you were born with a congenital heart disease like my son, there was a good chance you’d never be able to get health insurance. If your baby is going to die and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make.
“Let’s stop with the nonsense. This isn’t football, there aren’t teams. We are the team. 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.”
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