I know not very many of us parents can manage to keep our eyes open long enough to watch late night talk shows, but Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue on Monday was…well, I may or may not still be crying.
He took a rare break from cracking jokes, and instead took several minutes to talk about the birth of his newborn son, who was discovered to have pretty serious heart defects within hours of delivery last week. From the beginning, he reassured everyone that his story has a happy ending, but his emotional, sometimes tearful recounting of what happened touched everyone who heard it, parent or not.
And if you’re the parent of a baby who wasn’t born perfectly healthy, I can’t even imagine.
It’s the kind of trauma that brings people together and makes them set their differences aside. “We had atheists praying for us, O.K.?” he said. “And I hate to say it—even that son of a bitch Matt Damon sent flowers.”
I also love how Jimmy took a good portion of time to thank so many people at the hospital, starting with the incredible nurse who noticed the issue to begin with.
Kimmel didn’t stop there. He also pointed out why the whole nation should come together—and support health insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions (like his son’s), which is something lots of Americans are worried about right now. “If your baby is going to die, and it doesn’t have to, it shouldn’t matter how much money you make. I think that’s something that, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat or something else, we all agree on that, right?”
Right.
I saw the video and it was just heartbreaking. I admire him so much for talking about it on television and even mentioning the people that helped him. So brave!
I think Jimmy Kimmel nailed it when he said “We were brought up believing the United States is the greatest country in the world, but until 2014 most people couldn’t afford health care.” Obamacare was a blessing to your country and I believe it saves more lifes than Trump’s more jobs policy ever will. I’ve never known a time were health care wasn’t accesible for everyone and the thought of having to worry about money along with my father’s illness is incomprehensible. Here insurance companies aren’t even allowed into your medical history, let alone deny you health care because you’re sick.
Thanks for couibirnttng. It’s helped me understand the issues.