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The Soup host Joel McHale is known for his humor, but there is nothing funny about the open heart surgery performed on his son Edward ‘Eddie’ Roy, 3 ½, while still just a newborn. “It was a horrific time for us,” Joel admits to Tasty Baby. “Very surreal.” Eddie had two holes in the wall of his heart which surgeons needed to close, but Joel says that the situation could have easily been much worse. “Even though open heart surgery is obviously major, major surgery, Eddie’s problem was nothing compared to when a surgeon has to deal with the valves and veins of the heart,” Joel explains. “Multiple surgeries are required for those, and it can affect quality of life and life-span.” That Eddie emerged from the procedure with no “residual effects” has left Joel and wife Sarah — who are also parents to 9-month-old Isaac Hayden – feeling “deeply thankful.” Joel adds,
“We spent about a week in Los Angeles Children’s Hospital (the greatest hospital in the world), on the floor with all the other children who were recovering from much more serious surgeries. We realized quickly that Eddie’s problem paled in comparison to some of those kids. We were so lucky because we had an end to the dark tunnel that was his problem, but for those other kids, it can be a life-long struggle, or worse. They are so strong and brave.”
Advising every parent to “thank God for the gift that is their children’s health, and shower them with love,” Joel says that growing up with two brothers helped prepare him for life with his two sons — who “get along great.” “My poor mom was also surrounded by men,” Joel says. “Sarah…will just have to get used to a life of the toilet seat always being up.” The 37-year-old comedian says that there’s not “as much testosterone as you’d think” in his house, however: “I inject myself with estrogen daily…Menopause sucks,” he jokes.
Click below to read Joel’s thoughts on going green as a family.
Telling Tasty Baby that he considers himself an environmentalist, Joel says that he’s employing eco-friendly measures around the house with varying degrees of success. “We’ve been trying to teach [Isaac] to make sure he doesn’t throw away cans and bottles,” Joel notes. “Sadly, he sucks at it.”
“He just drools all over the recycling and pushes it around and smiles. It’s pretty cute.”
Eddie, on the other hand, is a big fan of the Toyota Prius — but Joel says he can’t take the credit. “[Eddie] just loves them. I like the Audi R8, but go figure – the kid is naturally environmentally conscious.”
Source: Tasty Baby
