Jimmy Kimmel shares update on son's health battle while encouraging Americans to 'vote with your heart'

Jimmy Kimmel has shared videos and photos detailing his three-year-old son’s health battles in an effort to encourage Americans to vote in the upcoming election.

During Thursday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host played a video segment portraying the complications his and wife Molly McNearney’s son William “Billy” John has faced since birth.

Ahead of the clip, Kimmel said: "I want to bring us back to focus on something we can't afford to forget, and that is health care. The vast majority of this country believes that health insurance should cover Americans with pre-existing conditions."

Billy had to undergo three heart surgeries after he was born with a congenital heart condition, Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia, with his first surgery taking place just days after he was born.

In the emotional clip, compiled by McNearney, it shows Billy as an infant in the NICU, as well as footage from some of his more than 60 doctor appointments over three years.

“This is what it looks like to have a ‘pre-existing’ condition,” the video reads.

McNearney also acknowledged the cost of healthcare, writing: “Families go broke trying to keep their loved ones alive. People die because they cannot afford to live," while explaining the need for the Affordable Care Act.

The video ends on a happy note, showing Billy now, dancing with his six-year-old sister Jane and kissing his mother.

“Americans take care of one another,” the clip concludes. “Vote with your heart.”

Kimmel first revealed his son’s condition in 2017 during a monologue on his show, where he described learning about the newborn’s problem as “terrifying”.

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