Jimmy Kimmel reveals his son Billy, seven, had THIRD open-heart surgery over Memorial Day weekend: ‘We went into this experience with a lot of optimism and nearly as much fear’

Jimmy Kimmel announced on Monday that his youngest son had successfully undergone open-heart surgery over the Memorial Day weekend at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA).

The 56-year-old comedian posted a sweet photo of his seven-year-old son Billy smiling gently while lying in a hospital bed as he shared the health news.

‘This weekend, our boy Billy had his third (of three, we hope) open heart surgery,’ Kimmel wrote in his lengthy caption. 

‘We went into this experience with a lot of optimism and nearly as much fear and came out with a new valve inside a happy, healthy kid,’ he continued.

Kimmel first revealed in 2017 that his then-baby son had undergone his first heart surgery, which spurred him on to advocate for healthcare and insurance reform.

Kimmel included praise for ‘Billy’s doctors, led by the brilliant surgeon Vaughn Starnes, cardiologist Tim Casarez and the excellent, hard-working staff, doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners at CHLA, including, but certainly not limited to Misty, Ann, Sylvia, Dana, Caleigh, Nick, Bekah, Julie, Kenny, Caroline, Lisa, Stephanie, Ellize, Ivy, Pam and Carrie came through for us with immeasurable kindness and expertise.’

The late-night host called it a ‘humbling experience’ to meet other ‘vulnerable’ children and their parents, as well as the ‘miracle workers’ doing their best to ‘save’ the young patients.

Kimmel made sure to to praise his wife Molly ‘for being stronger than is reasonable for any Mom to be,’ and saluted young Billy as ‘the toughest (and funniest) 7 year-old we know.’

‘There are so many parents and children who aren’t fortunate enough to go home after five days,’ he added. ‘Please share your love, hearts and prayers with them…’

The comedian tipped his hat to the late Senator John McCain, who was the key vote scuttling a bill that would have gutted the Affordable Care Act during the Trump administration.

He also noted that the healthcare law made it ‘largely’ possible for CHLA to accept young patients regardless of their ability to pay.

Kimmel has spoken about his young son’s heart condition in the past, including in an emotional speech in 2017, shortly after Billy was born.

Just three days after Billy was born, Kimmel announced on his show that the little boy would need open-heart surgery for his congenital heart condition, tetralogy of Fallot with 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,’ Kimmel explained at the time.

‘If your baby is going to die, and it doesn’t have to, it should not matter how much money you make,’ he said during his impassioned speech.

But he also spoke on a lighter note about Billy.

‘Poor kid. Not only did he get a bad heart, he got my face,’ he joked. 

Kimmel advocated for reforms to lower the cost of health insurance and medical care just as the Republican-controlled congress was debating a bill to repeal the ACA in 2017. The effort was ultimately scuttled by three GOP senators, including McCain.

The late senator from Arizona had remained uncommitted in the days leading up to the vote, but his iconic thumbs down ended the attempt to repeal the ACA.

Kimmel kept the positive updates coming, and in December 2017, he brought seven-month-old Billy on the show and announced that he had had his second open-heart surgery.

‘Billy is doing great, by the way. He has one more surgery — this is amazing — he had an operation a week ago. They say he’ll probably be on track to win at least a bronze medal at the Olympics in 2036,’ he announced.

Kimmel has been married in 2013 to Molly McNeary, who is an executive producer and co-head writer on his show Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

In addition to Billy they share a nine-year-old daughter Jane, and Kimmel has two adult children — Katie, 32, and Kevin, 30 — from his first marriage to Gina Maddy from 1988 to 2003.