Jimmy Kimmel and his wife Molly McNearney have had to deal with every parent's worst nightmare: their child having a life-threatening illness or medical condition. Billy Kimmel was born on April 21, 2017, and youngest member of the family has already endured a major surgery. As soon as he was born, he was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia — in other words, a congenital heart defect that causes five distinct heart abnormalities. He needed immediate cardiac surgery.
Luckily these days, Billy is doing well. He will need further surgeries, but Kimmel told his fans on Instagram that his son is "doing great." Jimmy even brought Billy to his first outing, and it was for a great cause —L.A.'s Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, a charity "dedicated to raising funds for research" for childhood cancer cures (per their website). Billy Kimmel was fast asleep against his late-night host dad's chest, but big sister Jane was happy to drink the lemonade.
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"Alex’s Lemonade is a great charity," the host told Us. "There’s a great story behind it. It really was started by a little girl, not by a group of adults. Sadly she passed away, so her parents carried on this tradition."
We remember when Jimmy used his opening monologue to talk about his family's recent difficulty. In a tearful speech, he discussed his child's condition and upcoming healthcare needs. Kimmel expressed gratitude for the hospital staff who attended to Billy, but also stressed that every child should universal access to the same quality of healthcare that saved Billy's life. Kimmel has previously come out in support of universal healthcare in the United States.
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