Jimmy Kimmel better be careful.
He"ll soon be known more for making us cry than making us laugh.
A couple weeks ago, the talk show host paid emotional tribute to one of his heroes, Don Rickles, shortly after the comedian passed away.
Then, on Monday night, Kimmel once again let the tears openly flow upon discussing something even more difficult and personal: open heart surgery his newborn son had to undergo just hours after entering the world.
“He appeared a normal healthy baby,” Kimmel told his audience at first about little Billy, who was born on April 21.
About three hours later, however, after Billy had met his two-year old sister Jane…
“My wife was in bed relaxing, a very attentive nurse at Cedars-Sinai heard a murmur in his heart and noticed he was a bit purple, which is not common.
"[Nurses] determined he wasn’t getting enough oxygen in his blood, either in his heart or lungs … It’s a terrifying thing, you know my wife is back in the recovery room, she has no idea what’s going on.”
From there, a heart surgeon explained to Kimmel and his wife, Molly, that their second child was born with a congenital heart disease and that there was a “hole in the wall of the left and right side of his heart.”
Kimmel holds little back in detailing how frightening this was to learn.
Fortunately, however, the story had a happy ending.
Billy underwent a successful procedure and, although he"ll require another one in just a few months, the prognosis is positive.
Kimmel then showed his fans a photo of Billy with many tubes in him, followed by one of the brave little guy smiling and doing just fine, post-surgery:
“Poor kid, not only did he get a bad heart, he got my face,” the host quipped.
Six days after he was born, Billy was able to leave the hospital and go home with his parents.
Watch the video below to see Kimmel thank the doctors, his friends (and even Matt Damon!) and, especially, his wife.
“Most of all, I want to thank my wife Molly. First of all, for allowing me to have sex with her in the first place.
"But also for being so strong and level-headed and positive and loving during the worst nightmare a new mother could experience. I couldn’t ask for a better partner and I’m so happy we had this baby together.
"I’m definitely getting a vasectomy after this."
Okay. Now we"re laughing AND crying…
