Jimmy Kimmel Thanks Nurses Who Saved His Infant Son's Life

[tnbutterfly - Mary, BSN]

Jimmy and his wife Molly welcomed their second child, a precious baby boy named William John Kimmel, on Friday, April 21, 2017 at Cedars-Sinai Hospital. He appeared to be a normal healthy baby, until about 3 hours after he was born a very attentive nurse heard a murmur as she was doing assessments. Murmurs are common in newborns, but she also noticed he "was a bit purple". Another nurse in NICU checked him too and notified the doctor. Jimmy was terrified as the number of doctors, nurses, and equipment filled the room. A pediatric cardiology surgeon was called in. An echocardiogram revealed that baby Billy had a birth defect called Tetrology of Fallot with pulmonary atresia and would require surgery. Billy and Jimmy traveled by ambulance to Children's Hospital of Los Angeles to undergo a 3-hour surgery to open his heart valve. Although the surgery was a success, he will require another surgery in about 6 months to close the hole in his heart.

Jimmy is so thankful to the astute nurse who first noticed something was wrong and jumped into action. He thanked her by name as well as the rest of the team at the two hospitals.

This is such a good reminder as we go into Nurses Week that nurses are so important. Many times they are the first line of defense for the safety of patients. Never underestimate your value as a nurse.

In this video, Jimmy is very emotional as he shares this scary story of what happened to little Billy.

[video=youtube_share;MmWWoMcGmo0]

[annabanana2]

This was sweet. I mean, not the part where his kid gets sick. You can tell how traumatizing it was for him and his family by the way he's three millimetres from tears the whole time. But the fact that he found out, remembered, wrote down, and individually read out the names of most of the staff involved in his kid's care - man. I have some strong feelings about that. I hope his kid recovers fully and easily from this and his future surgeries.

[Gadsale]

It's great that he recognized the diligence the nurses put in. Nurses do this everyday without fanfare or national media coverage. Good for him and the for the nurses who caught this!

[Joe V]

Arrrrgggghhhh!!!! Now I need a tissue.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

Was an awesome monologue. Go nurses.

Something we all learn about but probably never see; highlights how important nurses and nursing education are.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

OMG, that was so touching. You gotta love a man who can cry, and while crying wants to make sure he names every nurse and doctor who helped his family. You know he was writing down every staff member's name-at the time, I might think he's preparing his case against us, but in reality he just wanted to make sure he gave credit where credit was due.

I've always liked him. What he says is true-he is wealthy and doesn't have to worry about how he will save his baby (at least from a financial standpoint), but he actually wants every parent to have that same opportunity.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

When I saw this last night I had to share it everywhere. It's amazing that he made it a repeated point to let everyone know that it was the nurses that caught the problem and how thankful he was. It's not often nurses get credit, especially in the media for our "brains and knowledge". I am very glad his son is OK and that the issue was caught and I am thankful for his monologue.

[spotangel, DNP, RN, NP]

Love it! I am glad his son is OK. Glad that a nurse caught it and sounded the alarm. Is it funny that this happens at a time when health is on the table for cuts and Jimmy is on national show with a huge following---- talking about who gets affected! Now it is personal to him and I hope his message cuts party lines....

[AJJKRN]

Well now my dang nose is running! So sweet and humble í ½í²”

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

My eyes "leaked" a little as I watched it

this morning. Been thinking all day about my DD, who spent a week in NICU with IRDS and a chest tube. 36 years later, I still remember her nurses Loon and Anne.

[Apple-Core, ASN, BSN, RN]

Darn onions........

[JadedCPN, BSN, RN]

I absolutely loved this when I saw it as well. A lot of times, especially with the more well-known cases or celebrities, they automatically thank the doctor by name and then clump everyone else into "the care team" or "the nurses." I loved that he named the nurses by name, some first and last.