Jimmy Kimmel celebrates son’s birthday following year of surgeries

Jimmy Kimmel celebrated his son Billy’s first birthday on Saturday.

“A yr ago today, God gave us this tough little boy,” the late-night host posted to Instagram. “Today, we thank the nurses & doctors at @CedarsSinani & @ChildrensLA who saved his life & those who shared thoughts & prayers. We cannot stay quiet. Please wish Billy happy birthday by REGISTERING TO VOTE!”

The heartwarming message came along with a photo of little Billy wearing a party hat and digging into some cake.

Kimmel, 50, has been very vocal about his son’s health woes over the past year.

Billy was diagnosed with tetralogy of fallot with pulmonary atresia and underwent open-heart surgery at 3 days old.

In December, at 7-months old, Billy underwent his second heart surgery.

Since going public with his family’s troubles, Kimmel has become outspoken about the health care in America. He publicly slammed the GOP health care bill last fall.

“According to polls I’ve seen, it has cost me commercially,” Kimmel said. “That’s not ideal, but I wouldn’t change anything I said.”

Despite the sometimes backlash, Kimmel continued to used his platform to discuss health care in America.

“I know my job is, for the most part, to entertain people and make them laugh. That said, if I can be selfish every once in a while and talk about something serious that’s important to me, then I do want to take that opportunity,” Kimmel said. “But I don’t want to abuse my position. I pick my battles. Ninety percent of the time, I’ll joke around, but some of the jokes, I hope, make people think.”

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