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Jimmy Kimmel’s 18-Month-Old Son Billy Learned an Important Word in NYC

Jimmy Kimmel
Jimmy KimmelEmma McIntyre/Getty Images

It’s been nearly a year since Jimmy Kimmel’s son Billy underwent a second surgery  for his rare congenital heart defect — and the 18-month-old is thriving.

Related: Celebrity Health Scares

“He’s walking around, learning some words,” Kimmel told Us Weekly and other reporters at the “Paris With Love” Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Gala on Saturday, October 20. The toddler recently expanded his vocabulary — and made his parents proud — while visiting New York City.

“He learned the word ‘bagel’ in New York last week,” Billy’s mom Molly McNearney quipped. “That was very exciting for us.” 

Echoed her husband of five years: “Very excited about that!”

Related: Parents Brag About Their Cute Kids on Social Media: Pictures

Billy Kimmel
Billy Kimmel Courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel/Instagram

McNearney, who is co-head writer at Jimmy Kimmel Live!, suspects Billy’s medical condition has made him tough. “He got a flu shot and he just, like, kind of giggled at the nurse,” McNearney, 40, revealed. “I guess when you’ve been through what he’s been through, a flu shot is nothing.” 

Billy underwent his first open-heart surgery just days after he was born. For Kimmel, 50, it was a life-altering experience, as it taught him to savor every minute with his kids. (The Emmy-winning host is also dad of Jane, 4, and shares Katie, 27, and Kevin, 25, with former spouse Gina Kimmel.) 

Related: Celebrity Kids — Just Like Us!

“I always appreciated [being a parent], you never want anything bad to happen to your children, but nothing bad had happened to any of my children,” Kimmel explained. He called Billy’s diagnosis a “real reality check.”

“It does make you, for lack of a new cliche, cherish every moment,” he mused. “So for me, more than anything, that’s what I took away from it.” 

Kimmel, who has helped raise $5.5 million dollars for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, was honored at the fundraiser with the Courage to Care award. 

With reporting by Kayley Stumpe.

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