John Travolta's Son Dies

[Down Under]

Very sad news.
It must be the worst thing in the world to lose a child.
RIP Jett.


Rand Memorial Hospital in the Bahamas tells TMZ the son of John Travolta died today.

We're told 16-year-old Jett was vacationing with Travolta and wife Kelly Preston. We do not know the circumstances of his death.

There have been reports that Jett was autistic, though Travolta has denied it, saying he suffers from Kawasaki Syndrome, a condition which often leads to heart disease.

UPDATE: 4:00 PM ET -- Travolta's attorney Michael Ossi says Jett suffered a seizure at his family's vacation home at the Old Bahama Bay Hotel on Grand Bahama Island. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he died on scene.

UPDATE: 4:40 PM ET -- Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium in the Bahamas tells TMZ Jett's body would be transferred to Restview on Monday.

John Travolta's Son Dies - TMZ.com

 

[one4u2]

Awful just heard this on the news they are saying he hit his head on the bathtub in their vacation home..

 

[indra]

Oh my. Very sad. My thoughts to his family.

 

[BonosBaby12]

Just heard this news and still can't believe it My deepest sympathies and prayers go out to the Travolta family. Losing a child has to be one of the worst things in the world.

What a way to have a new year start off

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

this is awfully sad news.. and so tragic.. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

 

[MooMoo!]

Sad, sad news.

 

[U2isthebest]

Horrible news. Love and prayers to the Travoltas.ray:

 

[lauramullen]

I just read this on Yahoo. Very saddening.

 

[Carek1230]

I was shocked and deeply saddened when I saw this news ticker on my home page this afternoon. My heart goes out to John and Kelly and the Travolta family. It's a very sad thing indeed to lose a child and Jett was taken much too young!

 

[kafrun]

 

[JCOSTER]

I had seen this like one minute after it was posted on Yahoo! I can't even imagine the grief they're going through. My heart and prayers go out to them and their family.

 

[Irvine511]

very sad news.

i'll be the asshole and ask: was Jett denied any medication due to religious beliefs?

 

[susanp6]

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

very sad news.

i'll be the asshole and ask: was Jett denied any medication due to religious beliefs?

I wondered that as soon as I heard he had died.

 

[Lila64]

that was being questioned on the radio reports I was hearing yesterday, since we really don't know if he was autistic or if he really had Kawasaki Syndrome

sad all the way 'round

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

very sad news.

i'll be the asshole and ask: was Jett denied any medication due to religious beliefs?

i agree, it is very sad.

and i believe i read he was on a "detoxification" program.

 

[anitram]

very sad news.

i'll be the asshole and ask: was Jett denied any medication due to religious beliefs?

I think he was denied all "normal" treatment.

They fed him organic foods, according to Kelly Preston.

Their neighbours reported them to child services several years ago. It is a very sad story.

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

tmz.com has this..

Conflict Over Travolta Death
Posted Jan 4th 2009 10:45AM by TMZ Staff

There's a conflict brewing between the Bahama PD and John Travolta's camp regarding the time line of Jett Travolta's death.

People who are with Travolta are bristling at the suggestion Jett might have been left unattended for more than 10 hours, but this morning cops say they are sticking to their story. Meanwhile, we've learned Jett had suffered from grand mal seizures in the past and had taken anti-seizure medicine which the Travolta's say did not work, so the medication was stopped.

As for the time line, we're told Jett, his family and his two nannies had been boating on January 1. They returned to their townhouse at the Old Bahama Bay Hotel at around 6 PM. Jett was tired, went into his bedroom and went to sleep.

We're told nanny Jeff Kathrein watched TV in the adjoining room. The other nanny, Eli, returned to the townhouse at around 11:30 PM. Both Jeff and Eli turned in at around that time. After Jeff got up, he went into the bathroom and discovered Jett laying on the floor.

As for when Jett was last seen, cops say it was the at around 11:30 the night of January 1, when he went to the bathroom. Michael McDermott, John Travolta's lawyer and close friend, says Eli or Jeff may have gone into that bathroom during the middle of the night so the time frame would have been compressed.

McDermott also tells TMZ when Jeff and John Travolta administered CPR there may have been signs of life -- as in there may have been some respiratory function -- though that is not confirmed.

We're told Jett's disabilities included the inability to communicate well, in addition to some physical disabilities. As a result, there was a baby monitor in his room as well as a chime on the bathroom door. It's unclear if the two nannies slept through any signs of movement. The townhouse is relatively small -- around 1,000 square feet -- and the nannies and Jett were all on the bottom floor.

McDermott told us it's not unusual for Jett to sleep 12, even 16 hours a day, so Jett not being present is not unusual.

As for cause of death, the coroner will presumably determine that tomorrow.

As for John Travolta and Kelly Preston, McDermott tells us "they stopped crying long enough last night to try to write a press statement, which they haven't finished."

A number of celebrities, including Tom Cruise, have called Travolta and Preston offering condolences.

this is so sad.

 

[Irvine511]

more from TMZ:

John Travolta's Son: Meds Ultimately Did Harm

Posted Jan 4th 2009 12:29PM by TMZ Staff

TMZ has learned more about the medical condition of John Travolta's son, Jett, and the medication that ultimately didn't work.

We're now told the grand mal seizures Jett suffered were "frequent and extremely serious." Travolta's lawyers, Michael Ossi and Michael McDermott, tell us "each seizure was like a death," with Jett losing consciousness and convulsing.

We now know Jett was taking a drug called Depakote, a strong anti-seizure medication. There have been reports Travolta refused to give his son anti-seizure meds because of Scientology but those stories are not true.

Jett had been having seizures on an average of every four days, until he started taking Depakote. Ossi and McDermott say the drug initially worked, reducing the frequency to approximately once every three weeks.

Jett took Depakote for "several years," but it eventually lost its effectiveness, according to Ossi and McDermott. They say the Travoltas were concerned about possible physical damage. And, Jett went back to having around one seizure a week. So Travolta and Preston, after consulting neurosurgeons, stopped administering the drug. No one is suggesting withdrawal of the medicine in any way caused the fatal episode.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

interesting, my dad suffers from grand mal seizures as well and also takes depakote. luckily for him it's always worked, though sometimes he has a day where he needs to sleep for 18-20 hours, luckily it's pretty much always when he's off from work already. i suffer from frequent severe migraines and i've been put on various medications and dosages, trying to find what works. you know what i do when something works and then stops? i go to the doctor and see what i should do: increase the dosage or try something else. this isn't exactly rocket science.

i'm certainly not suggesting it's the parents' fault for him dying or anything, but things like seizures just can't go totally untreated. i do feel bad for his parents, no one should have to deal with the death of a child.

 

[anitram]

With people who have severe epilepsy (which is what this sounded like), they are on very high dosages of the meds for a long time. The effectiveness absolutely wears off, and at first you compensate for it by increasing the dose. But they are right, this results in a lot of bad side effects - for example, many epileptics are known to die of liver failure in the end because of the meds, although this has somewhat declined since we moved away from using phenobarb.

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

if he had epilepsy why didn't they just divulge that info? Big deal ya know. I mean he was on meds for seizures why keep that info from the public. There is definitely a lot more going on than we know. Developmental problems for sure. I honestly think there is autism in there. Some kind of mental disability going on as well.

It's very sad that's for sure either way. But what gets me mad is that if it were mental disabilites that could be treated they of course didn't because of their beliefs. Scientology, ugh I don't get it..

 

[anitram]

Autopsy is quite common among autistic patients, so I don't think he just had epilepsy.

They seemed very militant about insisting that he did NOT have autism.

 

[LarryMullen's POPAngel]

Despite anyone's opinions regarding their religion, no one should ever have to bury a child.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

It's so sad, and I have the feeling that it will become a media feeding frenzy. Especially with the Scientology angle.

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

Autopsy is quite common among autistic patients, so I don't think he just had epilepsy.

They seemed very militant about insisting that he did NOT have autism.

yeah cuz it's a mental disorder and they don't believe in treating these.

 

[U2Fanatic4ever]

Despite anyone's opinions regarding their religion, no one should ever have to bury a child.

exactly.. it just shouldn't happen.

 

[Daddysgonnapay]

and really, it isn't any of our business is it? If he was not famous, we would not even have a story about it..but the vulturous media is licking its chops

 

[JCOSTER]

Despite anyone's opinions regarding their religion, no one should ever have to bury a child.

Amen to that, so true.

 

[Down Under]

As has be said from the past posts, all very sad.

From People - Entertainment - smh.com.au


Jett Travolta's body shows no sign of head trauma and his death certificate says he was killed by a seizure, an undertaker said, after doctors performed an autopsy on the US actor's son.

The remains of John Travolta's son were being cremated and his parents planned to return to the United States with the ashes on Tuesday, said Keith McSweeney, director of the funeral home handling the body.

Jett, 16, had a history of seizures and was found unconscious in a bathroom at a family holiday home on Grand Bahama Island on Friday.

Glen Campbell, assistant director of the funeral home, said the body was in "great condition" despite reports by police officials that the teen had hit his head on a bathtub.

The authorities did not release the results of an autopsy performed on Monday, but Campbell saw the body and the death certificate, which was based on its findings.

"The only cause of death that was listed was 'seizure'," he said.