On May 12th, Jimmy Kimmel gave an emotional monologue on his late night TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live! about his newborn son’s health complications. In the week since, the video has been viewed over 10 million times on YouTube. It’s easy to dismiss it as just another feel good story, but there are several important lessons we all can learn from Kimmel’s experience – no matter which side of the aisle we sit on.
On Friday, April 21st, Kimmel’s wife gave birth to a baby boy named William. William was in seemingly great health after an easy birth; however, just a few hours into his life a nurse noticed a few early signs of what turned out to be a heart disease called tetralogy fallot with pulmonary atresia. The baby, nicknamed Billy, was slightly blue in color and there was a fain murmur in his heart.
