When Jimmy Kimmel took the stage of his late-night show in April 2017, viewers expected his usual humor and irreverence. Instead, he shared a raw, emotional, and deeply personal story. Kimmel revealed that his newborn son, Billy, was facing a life-threatening heart condition: tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, a rare congenital defect that impairs the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively. Billy was born just days before this announcement, and doctors quickly realized the seriousness of his condition. Kimmel described the moment he first learned of Billy’s diagnosis as overwhelming fear and disbelief. “It was like the world stopped,” he said. “All I could think about was, ‘How do I protect this tiny human I just met?’” The condition required urgent medical intervention. Billy underwent open-heart surgery when he was only a few days old at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The procedure was…
