Jimmy Kimmel is sharing a new update on how his son Billy is faring, nearly a decade after first sharing his harrowing health battle on the air.
Back in 2017, a few short weeks after welcoming his son, now nine years old, with Molly McNearney, Jimmy, now 58, appeared on his late night show Jimmy Kimmel Live! as usual.
However, in his opening monologue, he broke down in tears as he described the terrifying experience of not being able to see his son after he was born because he had been diagnosed with a rare congenital heart defect and had to undergo emergency surgery.
© Getty ImagesHis emotional monologue instantly won over millions of new fans, whose hearts ached alongside Jimmy's, and were just as invested when he brought his newborn boy out on stage for the world to eventually see.
Since then, he's revealed over the years that Billy has undergone a total of three open-heart surgeries so far. But things are finally starting to look up for him.
While speaking with Chris Connelly on Good Morning America on July 22, the TV host shared that his son is doing well now, just a few months after celebrating his ninth birthday, and is really coming into his own personality wise too.
© Getty Images"He's doing great, thank god he's doing great," Jimmy shared with some relief, revealing also that as far as his health goes, he likely won't need a fourth surgery. "He had three open-heart surgeries. As far as we know, he won't need another one."
As for what he's actually like, the dad-of-four jokingly dubbed him "strange," saying with love: "He's just a very, very weird, very funny kid. People ask me, 'How's he doing? Is he okay?' And I say, 'Physically, he's okay. Mentally, he's very strange.'"
Case in point, the comedian noted just what his youngest was up to at this point. "My wife is at a hotel with him this weekend. And he was on the balcony, mooning a wedding party."
© Getty ImagesAt the time, Jimmy maintained that it was important for him to not only discuss his son's difficult first few days in the world, but also the lack of healthcare infrastructure that allowed children born with such diseases to get the care they need in the first year or two of their life.
When asked by The New York Times a few months after whether he ever regretted his monologue, he stated: "No, but in retrospect, perhaps I should have. Because what I didn't think through was that, everywhere I went, every day of my life, people would be asking me how my son is doing."
He noted that he was able to thankfully say that his son was genuinely doing well, but understood the pain for parents who couldn't always say the same. "If that wasn't the case, each day would be very, very painful."
© InstagramFurther explaining his reasoning for being so candid about Billy's condition, he added: "I also felt like I had to say something. Because I'd been talking about the fact that my wife was pregnant for six months. I left for paternity leave and then I didn't come back. That was something I had to address."
