Jimmy Kimmel Shares Update on Son Billy After Third Open Heart Surgery

Jimmy Kimmel is sharing a new health update on his son Billy after the 7-year-old underwent his third open heart surgery in May. The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host, 56, opened up about his son’s recovery Monday in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, saying that Billy is “doing great” after his major surgery.

“Billy’s doing great. He had open-heart surgery; you know he’s got the scars and everything, but he’s just mentally right back where he was which is crazy,” Kimmel said of his son, who has undergone numerous surgeries after being born with a congenital heart disease.  “Physically, you know, we’re gonna have to be careful with him for a couple of months, but he’s doing really well.”

When it comes to how resilient children are in the face of such challenges, Kimmel noted, “They’re made of rubber, you know, everybody says that kids are so resilient and the doctors actually explained it to me which I don’t know why it never occurred to me before because they’re still growing.”

Kimmel, who is also father to 9-year-old daughter Jane with his wife Molly McNearney and daughter Katie, 32, and son Kevin, 30, with ex-wife Gina Maddy, announced in May that Billy had successfully made it through his third open heart surgery.

“This weekend, our boy Billy had his third (of three, we hope) open heart surgery,” he wrote at the time. “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.” The late-night host continued on to thank the medical staff for their “immeasurable kindness and expertise,” writing, “Walking around this hospital, meeting parents at their most vulnerable, children in pain and the miracle workers who do everything in their considerable power to save them is a humbling experience.”

“Thanks to those loving strangers who took time to pray for and send positive energy to our baby,” he added. “Thanks to our family and friends for rallying around us to an almost-ridiculous extent, thank you to my wife Molly for being stronger than is reasonable for any Mom to be and Billy, you are the toughest (and funniest) 7 year-old we know.”