Jimmy Kimmel shares heartbreaking news following the birth of his baby boy.

Jimmy tearfully revealed his baby son had to have lifesaving open-heart surgery shortly after he was born 10 days ago.

The late night TV host opened his show on Monday with the news that his wife Molly McNearney, 39, had given birth to their second child, William ‘Billy’ Kimmel, on April 21.

The father of four broke down as he detailed the terrifying health troubles Billy had endured and that he had successfully undergone risky heart surgery after he was born.

‘It is a scary story… but it has a happy ending,’ he said as he began a teary 15-minute opening monologue.

‘They found that Billy was born with a heart disease.’

Kimmel said the congenital heart disease meant his son had a ‘hole in the wall of the left and right side of his heart’.  He will need further surgeries as he grows.

Dear Jimmy you are not alone

As a fellow parent to a Heartkid fighter, I would like to offer my thoughts to Jimmy and his wife, Molly, and tell them they are far from alone in this journey. While you often feel very isolated there are so many other families facing a very similar journey. CHD doesn’t discriminate.

Even thought our worlds are miles apart we are now connected as so many other families are.

As this piece on The Mighty said, “You are now in a club of parents, of families, who are in a constant state of worry, fear and grief.”

Don’t let anyone tell you “Oh he will be fine ” because once a heart baby always a heart baby. It is a lifelong journey with ups and downs. But so much support around for families to reach out to.

Children with childhood heart disease will face unique challenges for the rest of their lives and for many, this will include ongoing medical treatment and repeated heart surgeries.

Myself and other fellow Heartkid parents would also like to urge Jimmy to now use his platform to help raise much needed awareness for  congenital heart disease. It really doesn’t get spoken about nearly enough & people don’t realise that it can happen to anyone at anytime, just as quickly as it did in Jimmy’s story.

As another mum wrote, “You don’t know me, but there are parts of my heart only you and other CHD parents will ever understand, and I am thankful for your honesty and courage you’ve already shown on behalf of our community.”

FACTS ABOUT CHD via Heartkids Au

• Childhood heart disease is the biggest killer of Australian kids under one
• Every day in Australia eight babies are born with a heart defect. That’s almost 3,000 each year.
• Every week, four precious lives are lost.
• There is no known cure or prevention. Once a Heartkid, always a Heartkid.
• It’s estimated that 32,000 children (under 18 years of age) are currently living with CHD in Australia

You can read about my families journey HERE.

Find out how you can support Heartkids HERE.

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