Jimmy Kimmel’s willingness to be open about hisson Billy’s heart condition— and the twosuccessful surgerieshis child has undergone — inspiredJaime Kingto speak out about her son Leo Thames’ own harrowing journey.
King, 39, tellsPEOPLE Nowthat she first found out her youngest son, now 3½, had something called Transposition of the Great Arteries, “which is a very serious heart defect” while she was 33 weeks pregnant.
The actress also reveals that Kimmel, who has been through a similar journey with his sonWilliam “Billy” Johninspired her to be more open about Leo’s story after the comedian’s atearful addressabout his son’s congenital heart condition, tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia.
King and husband Kyle Newman are also parents to 5-year-old sonJames Knight.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Tibrina Hobson/Getty
Jimmy Kimmel and Jaime King
King, who’s starring in Netflix’s new zombie seriesBlack Summer, also opens up about her pregnancy with Leo.
“I was basically in the hospital the whole time,” she recalls. “It was very secretive.”
The star went on to share that her son “crashed at birth and they had to take him out in emergency surgery.”
Afterwards, she was told she would only be able “to go see my child” if she could physically walk there herself, and much to the doctors’ surprise, King “got up off the surgical table,” where her son was on life support.
“When I walked in, their faces, they went pale and I thought for sure that was it,” she says of her son, who went on toundergo heart surgery at 20 weeks old.
Jaime King/Instagram
Jaime King and her son Leo with his godmotherTaylor Swift
These days, King shares that there’s “nothing” Leo can’t do.
“He’s amazing. He’s so strong,” she shares. “There’s nothing that this kid cannot do.”
“That’s the incredible thing about kids that go through something, a sickness or some sort of intensity, I notice they have this, not just a bravery, they’re fierce,” King says. “And when they said we promise you he will be able to do everything in life, it’ll be like — they made a lot of promises, and of course you think they’re just telling you that as a mom, but I’m just like oh my god.”
King went on to tellPEOPLE Nowabout her son’s two amazing godmothers:Jessica AlbaandTaylor Swift.
“WellJessica Albais James Knight’s godmother and Jess was the first one of us to have kids. I was really grateful because Jess had carried me through all of my pregnancies,” she shares.
“She would sneak in, like I had to, into the hospital and be there,” King says, adding that Swift went on to give “a very incredible donation” to Cedars-Sinai, where Leo had his surgery.
“It doesn’t matter the name of the person, or who they are. It’s not about the fact that either of them are famous. These are women that I love and that are there and have been there and that’s the most important thing,” she adds.
source: people.com
