I love when Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen DeGeneres interview each other in general but yesterday they got me all worked up. Jimmy has been allowing himself to show more emotion on stage in the last year. He doesn’t shy away from subjects that get him choked up, like his monologue about the Parkland shooting victims.
Jimmy has also shared his feelings about his newborn son, Billy, who required open heart surgery right after he was born to fix a genetic heart defect. Billy had a second surgery and requires at least one more. Fortunately, Billy is doing well and is expected to live a healthy and normal life. As you also may know, Jimmy and his wife, Molly McNearney, used the situation to advocate for universal health insurance and CHIP. Many people responded to Jimmy’s call to help, including his friend Ellen who, with her audience, raised over $1 million for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Jimmy appeared on her show yesterday and wanted to thank her for her efforts, but Ellen turned the tables on him and ended up announcing that she had arranged to have a room on the surgical floor of CHLA named after little Billy Kimmel.
I felt bad about laughing at his wedding DJ story.
I always wonder if these “surprises” are planned. I think Jimmy had no idea Ellen was going to do this. If this had been planned, Molly would have been invited, which would have alerted them that something was up. But Jimmy looked skeptical when Ellen first said she had a surprise for him, probably due to her love of scaring people. Look at his face at the 3:08 mark, right after she tells him, he’s genuinely taken aback. Plus his voice cracked when he said, “wow.” The clincher is the piece of paper with Billy’s name on it at the hospital. That was hastily put up for the segment, I’m sure they’re planning a whole dedication ceremony with Jimmy, Molly and Jane there to unveil the official plaque… and I am already tearing up thinking about it. Man, I’m just an old softy like Jimmy.
Speaking of Molly, she recently gave an interview to ABC News about Billy’s health battle. She said she was uncomfortable with the world knowing about her son’s health crisis but understands now how important it was for Jimmy to politicize it. What really got to me was her line, “I’m looking forward to the day that I get to tell him (Billy) about all of this. I want to be the one to tell Billy what his dad did for him.” And now I need another tissue.
Thank you to my ridiculously generous friend Ellen and the kind and excellent doctors & nurses @ChildrensLA for this beautiful gift in our son’s name… https://t.co/uJDxhhEPOA @TheEllenShow. Billy is very happy about this, as you can see. pic.twitter.com/nrc1FZ7Fip
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) February 27, 2018
Photo credit: WENN Photos, YouTube and Instagram
I started tearing up when I saw him tear up. Ugh. I love that Jimmy continues to fight and be political. It bumped him up to favorite status on late night.
For me, too. I used to watch him and Jimmy Fallon pretty equally and anymore I cannot stand Fallon but love Kimmel. He seems like a very genuine guy.
That’s awesome (I type with tears streaming down my face)! I’m so happy for them that Billy is going to okay. What a little fighter! They’re such a cute family.
Awwwww ❤️❤️❤️
Too early to have the sniffles. What a wonderful thing to do for him and his family. So glad to hear their son is doing well. I can’t begin to fathom the skill and ice cold nerves it takes to operate on babies- hats off to his health care team as well.
I dont know how I feel about naming this after Billy Kimmel. I mean generally just the practice of purchasing naming rights by donation as well as naming stuff after living people much less a baby. Surely theres a retired pediatric nurse who can be honored for dedicated service at that hospital or a hospital volunteer or even a beloved long term patient. Some of the babies with these conditions have been abandoned by family and are in the system, one of them maybe?
There are probably lots of patients who do name rooms after nurses or doctors who helped them through a health crisis. Naming is a great fundraising tool for hospitals, so I don’t mind it at all, even if it seems egotistical, since the donation is doing some good.
Feel good about it! Billy (hopefully) will live a long life thanks to the hard work and dedication of the doctors and nurses who helped in. Because of all the support for billy and the donations raised in his honor more babies will get to see better, longer days. Because of Billy’s fight, this hospital will be able to help others babies fight. Feel good about this story is all I can say!!!!!
I love this story. It made my morning!
My son was in the NICU for some time after he was born and they had various levels of donations that created a wall mural. It was like an outdoors scene with deer and rabbits and flowers, etc… The smaller items were smaller donations and the more you donated you got a deer or a horse, etc. It was a beautiful tribute to babies, nurses and doctors and their parents. I walked by it every day and it brought me a little bit of joy, even if some of the names were for babies who didn’t make it.
That’s beautiful, EMC.
wow. i just watched his monologue on the parkland tragedy too, he is wonderful. Thank you for being outspoken jimmy, it’s so necessary.
My daughter was in the NICU as well, after her open heart surgery. Her cube mate was a little girl, no more than 2, whose mom came to visit once. I remember hearing the doctors talk about it, how no one was there after her surgery. I stayed at the hospital for a few days, and at the Ronald McDonald House for a few too. But when I was in the room, I’d talk and hold the hand of the little girl, even though I was told not to. Sad all around, and I’ve never forgotten her. Pediatric hospitals, especially the nurses, do amazing things everyday without the fanfare. Any donation that will help them and their patients is a good thing.
Wow, Billy is his mother’s son. Identical.
I am shocked at the amount of children being born with heart conditions. It has definitely increased over the last ten years. Much like autism, science needs to get their priorities straight and figure this shit out!
Autism is likely not more prevalent in our society, the “increase” we see is largely due to increased diagnostics and earlier detection. In past generations, people who were probably on the autism spectrum were either not diagnosed, especially if they were high-functioning, or were mis-diagnosed. Heart conditions may be much the same; our advanced medical science is keeping very sick babies who might have died a generation or two ago alive, and in many cases helping them thrive and live “normal” lives after early interventions. I’m sure there may be some measurable increase in either/both diagnosis, but the fact that we are more aware, more able to intervene, and more likely to discuss adverse medical diagnoses now than at any time before makes it seem like these conditions are more prevalent, and it’s just not that simple.
Also: I’m so glad that little Billy is doing well, and I’m glad to see his parents bravely sharing their story to help the chances of other sick little ones. They are actively working to improve the world we all share, and I’m grateful.
Bullshit. It is on the rise I am a teacher and am ASD myself. I have a class of 17 kids and at least 4 spectrum. Shame on everyone for being too scared to ask the hard questions. And i will say that psychologists are often too scared/undertrained to give adults with asd a diagnosis. People like you stop environmental questions being asked. A mouthpiece for the establishment. I hope they give you a pat on the head for being a good girl.
I can’t help but tear up. I never was a crier, was always proud of my ‘keeping it together’, but lately I’ve been tearing up the moment I see someone upset o crying, or something too adorable or too sad. Everything, basically.