Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel revealed Monday that his seven-year-old son had undergone his third open-heart surgery.
Kimmel shared the update on Instagram alongside an image of his son smiling as he lay in a hospital bed.
“This weekend, our boy Billy had his third (of three, we hope) open heart surgery,” he 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.”
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Kimmel went on to credit the hard-working medical team that performed the delicate surgery.
“Once again 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,” he wrote in the post.
Kimmel also opened up about the experience and what it was like to see his son through the ordeal.
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“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,” he said. “We hope you never need CHLA, but if you do – know that they help families regardless of their ability to pay, thanks largely to the Affordable Care Act (another salute to the late Senator John McCain), generous donations from companies like Disney, which I am proud to work for and especially from generous people like you.” (RELATED: ’19 Kids And Counting’ Star Reveals Her Child Was Stillborn)
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A slew of celebrities shared loving notes, including John Stamos, who wrote, “God bless your little Billy. He’s lucky he has parents like you and also the care of the good folks at CHLA.”
Andy Cohen, Jennifer Aniston, Carson Daly, Helen Hunt, Oliva Munn and Rosie O’Donnell were also among the stars who chimed in with encouraging words.
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Kimmel’s son was born with a heart defect and underwent his first open-heart surgery at just three days old, according to TooFab.
