As Dr. Perry Cox on “Scrubs,” John McGinley exhibited a hard-to-match intensity. In real life, that intensity comes out in his fierce devotion to his three kids, the oldest of whom was born with Down syndrome.

"It was like getting hit with a cosmic hammer," McGinley says of son Max's diagnosis at birth, on a video call with TODAY.com.

"Max was going to be a girl. Everything was all squared away. He showed up, and his 21st chromosome had tripled, he had heart issues and sleep apnea and some digestive tract problems, and I just shut down."

The year after Max’s birth was a roller coaster for McGinley and his ex-wife, Lauren Lambert. Adjusting to their new reality and keeping an eye on the heart condition Max was born with (which ultimately resolved itself) took some time, so McGinley stepp

See Full Page