Jett Travolta....John Travolta's son, Dies

[gwen]

[gwen]

Travolta & son. RIP Jett. December, 2008

<object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4W7tAZFDvVE&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4W7tAZFDvVE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>

[gwen]

CNN Cooper Anderson eath of Jett Travolta on CNN 360 with Dr Gupta

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FZLpe9PlTpk&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FZLpe9PlTpk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[olympic]

Kelly Preston's mom, Linda Carlson, opened up to Usmagazine.com about the Friday death of her grandson, Jett.

"I am devastated," Carlson told Us through tears.

"He was the light of our lives," she added.

Jett died Friday morning from after he slipped and hit his head on the bathtub or toilet -- or both -- at his family's vacation home in the Bahamas, according to John Travolta's lawyer and close friend, Michael McDermott, and family attorney, Michael Ossi. It's unclear if a seizure caused Jett's fall, or if he had a seizure after the impact.

The lawyers told TMZ.com that a manager from the hotel where the vacation home is located was first to the scene, and he helped Jett's nanny administer CPR.

(Jett was said to suffer from autism, which Travolta denies, instead claiming he was inflicted with Kawasaki Syndrome. The 16-year-old had an around-the-clock nanny, was watched over by baby monitor and his bathroom door chimed every time it was opened, TMZ reported.)

Travolta arrived and took over CPR shortly after for a "substantial period of time...until EMT came and took over."

Ossi told Us in a statement: "Attempts were made to revive him, but he died at the scene. Jett...had a history of seizures.

Jett was then taken to Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport, Basil Rahming, the Chief Superintendent of the Grand Bahama Police, confirmed to Us Friday.

McDermott calls Preston and Travolta's pain over their son's death "unimaginable and unquantifiable."

An autopsy will be performed Monday. There will be a local showing on Tuesday, and then the body will be flown to Ocala, Florida, to be buried.

Preston and Travolta are also parents to daughter Ella Bleu, 8.

[olympic]

FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) -- John Travolta's 16-year-old son was "spectacularly supervised" before he was found collapsed at the family's vacation home on Grand Bahama, an attorney for the actor said Sunday.

Travolta himself, in his first public statement since Jett's death, thanked people for their support and said he and his wife were "heartbroken that our time with him was so brief."

Police Superintendent Basil Rahming has said a caretaker found Jett Travolta unconscious in a bathroom late Friday morning before he was pronounced dead at a Freeport hospital. The youth was last seen entering the bathroom on Thursday, according to Rahming's police statement.

But attorney Michael McDermott said he doesn't believe that Jett was in the bathroom for a substantial amount of time.

"The police left the impression that the boy was unsupervised. No. There were two nannies with him for the entire evening," McDermott told The Associated Press. "They made it seem like he was sent to the condo and nobody checked in on him until the next morning."

"(Jett) was spectacularly supervised," said McDermott, who said he has not had the chance to talk to the two nannies himself.

McDermott said he had no knowledge of Jett's medical history but "understood he had a history of seizures." It is unclear whether Jett was taking medication for that.

The Bahamas' health minister, Dr. Hubert Minnis, has said that a second, U.S.-certified pathologist will fly in at dawn Monday to assist with the teenager's autopsy.

"I have spoken to (Travolta) and informed him that the government is doing everything it can," Minnis said Sunday, adding he could not disclose further specifics about the autopsy.

About a dozen security guards and Bahamian police officers patrolled Sunday around the luxury Old Bahama Bay resort community where Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston remained inside their home. The white-sand beach in front of the suites was closed.

The couple also has an 8-year-old daughter, Ella Bleu.

In a statement posted Sunday on Travolta's Web site, the couple said Jett was the "most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered."

"We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives," they said.

Travolta, 54, is trying to finish funeral arrangements and hopes to fly his son's body to Florida by midweek, McDermott said. Travolta and Preston, 46, have a house in Ocala, Florida.

Preston and Travolta have said that Jett became very sick when he was 2 years old and was diagnosed with Kawasaki Syndrome, an illness that leads to inflamed blood vessels in young children. Preston blamed household cleaners and fertilizers, and said that a detoxification program based on teachings from the Church of Scientology helped improve his health, according to People magazine.

The Church of Scientology, established in 1945 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, has attracted numerous celebrity followers, and among its more famed members is Travolta, who has long been one of Hollywood's biggest names.


John Travolta's wife Kelly Preston walks with the couple's son Jett during a Hawaiian vacation in May 2007.

[olympic]

John Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, released a statement on Preston's official website on Sunday.

It is the couple's first public words since the tragic and sudden death of their 16-year-old son, Jett, on Friday.

They say:

We would like to extend our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to everyone who has sent their love and condolences.

Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered. We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives. We have received many messages of condolence from around the world and we want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. It has meant so much to us. It is a beautiful reminder of the inherent goodness in the human spirit that gives us ahope for a brighter future.

With love,
John, Kelly and Ella

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday in the Bahamas.

But, by multiple accounts, Jett's death was just an unfortunate and horrible accident.

Our thoughts go out to the Travoltas and their family.

[olympic]

Claims that Jett, 16, suffered from condition he was never treated for is denied by his devastated father.

The death of John Travolta’s son was shrouded in controversy last night amid claims that 16-year-old Jett suffered from a condition he was never treated for.

The youngster, who died after the star fought a desperate battle to save him with mouth-to-mouth and heart massage, had long been the subject of claims that he had autism – a condition which is not recognised by the Scientology religion pursued by Hollywood star John and his actress wife Kelly Preston.

Last night pathologists were preparing to carry out a post-mortem to determine the exact cause of Jett’s death after he suffered a seizure and fell on to a bath at the family’s holiday home in the Bahamas.

He was found in the bathroom by his male nanny, Jeff Kathrein, at 10am on Friday. John and Kelly, who were elsewhere in the house, were immediately alerted. Today the heartbroken couple will face a routine police quiz as detectives from the Bahamas Serious Crime Squad try to discover exactly what happened. Police confirmed he had a “history of seizures”.

The star’s lawyer Michael McDermott said last night: “John tried everything to bring his boy back. He took over the CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) from the nanny. Jett was not dead, there was a flicker of life and he exhaustively did all he could before paramedics arrived and continued the CPR. There was some breathing.”

But his efforts were in vain as Jett was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital in Freeport, the island’s capital. His parents accompanied him in the ambulance and were seen holding hands after the death was confirmed.

John then had to break the news to Jett’s little sister, eight-year-old Ella.

“She was unaware of what was going on,” Mr McDermott said. “No father should have to do something like that. It’s heart-wrenching. If you knew how much he loved that boy... you could just see it, you could feel it. The pain is unimaginable.”

Mr McDermott said nanny Jeff was sleeping “less than 8ft” from Jett’s bed in another part of the holiday home when the tragedy occurred. He said the room was fitted with a baby monitor and a chime over the bathroom door to alert him when Jett got up.

“Jeff is still very cut up over what has happened and I have not spoken to him, but everyone has told me Jett was never left alone. When he went to bed, so did Jeff. He was always watched.”

Mr McDermott said that Jett’s injury happened “very shortly” before he was found. He said there was blood on the floor and it appeared he died from the head injury rather than the seizure after hitting his head twice – on the bath tub and the wash basin.

Police said he was last seen alive on Thursday night when he went to use the bathroom. But Mr McDermott insisted he was constantly checked throughout the night.

He said: “Jett was accompanied by two nannies all the time. They slept on the ground floor of the house, while John and Kelly had the upstairs.”

The tragedy happened as 50 of the couple’s friends were flying in to spend the weekend at a New Year party.

Jett’s body will be flown to Ocala, Florida, where the Travoltas live, on Tuesday, for the funeral.

Last night a close friend of Joey Travolta, John’s film-maker brother, gave an insight into family divisions caused by the youngster’s illness.

The friend said Joey and John regularly argued about what was wrong with Jett. John did not believe it was autism, a condition not recognised by Scientology. Joey, 58, learned about the disorder when he interviewed 65 autistic youngsters for a documentary called Normal People Scare Me.

The idea of the film was to teach people about the syndrome, which can spark violent seizures. Joey also formed the group Actors for Autism which helps sufferers make films.

The friend said: “Joey could see Jett in every one of those 65 kids he spoke to. It was so obvious Jett was autistic just from spending five minutes with him, but the cruel fact of their religion meant his parents simply did not accept it.”

Scientologists believe mental illness is psychosomatic, that people who suffer from it are defective human beings, and teach that it should be treated through spiritual healing. They reject the use of drugs to treat mental conditions.

The friend said: “Parents who had children in the same classes as Jett would gather round after school and say, ‘Are they in denial or what?’”

John, 54, and Kelly, 46, have vehemently denied claims Jett had autism, but say he suffered from little-known Kawasaki Syndrome. They say he had a history of seizures which may have been caused by brain damage linked to Kawasaki. Some health experts say there is no link between Kawasaki and seizures, yet it is common for sufferers of autism to have fits if they go untreated.

Autism is often associated with epilepsy and in the US nearly half of autistic children are prescribed anti-convulsion drugs.

The pal said of Travolta’s brother: “Joey loves his family but there were a lot of disagreements about Jett’s treatment and what could be done. I can see Jett’s parents now will be facing a lot of soul-searching.

“I think his mum must have known deep down in her heart. I was told she put him on a detoxification diet which can help autistic children, but there is so much more that could have been done.”

About a third of people with autism develop epilepsy with many suffering seizures which begin in adolescence.

There are dozens of drugs designed to help.

Jett’s stated condition of Kawasaki is highly unlikely to have killed him or given him seizures, one expert said.

Sue Davidson from the UK Kawasaki Support Group said: “I’ve dealt with 1,200 children over 14 years and not one has suffered seizures. Where Kawasaki Syndrome is fatal is in cases where it has not been diagnosed.”

Autism expert Sean Rhodes said: “If a child with autism is not diagnosed it can be very dangerous. To ignore the work done in the past 60 years means vital warning signs can be missed.”

In 2006, Hollywood reporter Mark Ebner claimed autism charities, a major movie producer and a top actor had all confirmed Jett was autistic.

Then, last year, one of John’s neighbours claimed the star and his wife were not admitting their son’s condition.

Tim Kenning, who himself had an autistic daughter, said: “Scientology is keeping him from acknowledging his son’s autism. They see it as a weakness.”

The Travoltas were picketed by activists who demanded they go public about Jett’s condition for the sake of other parents of autistic children.

But their lawyer at the time rejected the suggestion that Jett was autistic, saying: “The Travoltas are wonderful, loving parents, and their priority is their children.

“They have taken and continue to take the best possible care of their children. To suggest anything to the contrary is very hurtful to a loving family and also would be false and defamatory.”

John named his son Jett after his love of flying. The movie star, who has five private planes, once said while other kids had sleep-overs in their back gardens, his son could hold one in a Boeing 707.

John has practised Scientology for 24 years and is one of the controversial religion’s best-known devotees.

Under rules set out by founder L. Ron Hubbard, mental illnesses and psychotherapy are not recognised.

Officers from the serious crimes section of the Grand Bahama Police Force are conducting the inquiry into Jett’s death because of its high-profile nature. His parents are likely to be interviewed.

A police source said: “They will be questioned purely as a matter of routine. We appreciate they are devastated but we have to establish exactly what happened.”

John Travolta’s career spans 40 years and he is worth an estimated £200million. He is best known for Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Pulp Fiction.

[olympic]

[olympic]

John Travolta's plane sitting at the airport in the Grand Bahamas.

The Travolta family flew to the Bahamas on their private plane last Tuesday, three days before the tragic death of Jett Travolta.

Travolta is a certified pilot and aviation enthusiast, who named one of his planes "Jett Clipper Ella" in honor of his children Jett and Ella

[olympic]

John Travolta's lawyers -- who are close family friends -- reveal to Usmagazine that Jett may have died in his father's arms Friday. "Yesterday was the worst day of [John's] life," Travolta's lawyer and confidant, Michael McDermott, and Michael Ossi, the family's attorney, tell Us in a phone interview (during which they asked all quotes to be jointly attributed).

Us: How is John doing?

Ossi and McDermott: "John is distraught. He is trying to understand and reconcile this. He is seeking an explanation so that this makes sense to him. And his loved ones are trying to provide that to him.

"Yesterday was the worst day of his life. Today is probably equally as bad, and if not, it's the second worst day of his life.

"John is recognizing the outpouring of support he has got from both the U.S. and the world. He can feel the love and he says it makes him stronger and hopefully it allows him to reconcile.

"He is undergoing the pain any father would if they lost his son. Generally a son buries his father, and John thought that would be the way it would go with Jett, not the other way around.

"He is in shock. He is emotionally distraught. He is going through many different feelings of disbelief and anger. It's going to take a while for him to feel good again. This is the most traumatic thing that has ever happened to him and he needs to go through a process of healing. John and Kelly are suffering total misery. They were so close to their son. This is hard to accept.

"He had set a vacation for his employees and friends. Forty-nine adults and their children were coming here [to the Bahamas] from Jan. 2nd to 4th. We were all so excited to spend some days with John. We were on the plane and we had no idea, and then we landed and we found out. Every year he holds a party for friends and employees and this year he had the idea to fly us all to his condo. We were planning to hang out on the beach, go for boat rides and spend time with the family.

Us: Have John and Kelly spent time with anyone since everyone arrived?

Ossi and McDermott: "John and Kelly have been pretty much locked away.

"We are staying here until John leaves. The autopsy should be on Monday.

Us: How is Jett's 8-year-old sister, Ella Bleu, taking it?

Ossi and McDermott: "John broke the news to Ella. She is heartbroken. She is in disbelief, but it is starting to sink in. She has been asking where her brother is. She was so close to Jett. The whole family were so close. They went everywhere together. If John made a movie, they were all there with him.

Us: It's been reported that Jett was left alone for several hours before being discovered. Can you clarify the timeline?

Ossi and McDermott: "Jett was not left alone. He had a nanny present at all times. The nanny was sleeping close to Jett's room. There was a baby monitor, a chime on the door so it was known when Jett was going in and out. He was completely supervised. The nanny found him.

Us: Is it true that Jett died in John's arms?

Ossi and McDermott: "Jett may have still been alive when John administered CPR, and then the EMT took over. Jett was pronounced dead at the hospital. I like to believe John had a chance to say goodbye. He may have died in his dad's arms. I am not certain."

Us: It's been said Jett had a history of seizures. How often did he have them?

Ossi and McDermott: "I am not confident to talk about that. I know he had a history, which of course warranted the extra attention."

Us: You obviously knew Jett well. What was his personality like?

Ossi and McDermott: "He was a wonderful boy. He had physical limitations, but when he looked in his dad's eyes, the love was tangible. When he grabbed onto his dad, he did not want to let him go."

[olympic]

FIRST PUBLISHED: January 4, 2009 7:38 PM EST
LAST UPDATED: January 4, 2009 8:41 PM EST
FREEPORT, Bahamas --

Marcus Garvey, the chief of the EMT crew that tried to save Jett Travolta’s life on Friday morning, has come forward, revealing the details of the 16-year-old’s tragic passing in a new interview with Radar Online.

According to the Web site, Marcus arrived on the scene to find Jett unconscious with a hematoma as a doctor performed CPR.

“There was a minimum amount of blood,” he told the site, which he added was consistent with someone who had just had a seizure.

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Jett is thought to have suffered a seizure and hit his head on the bathtub. An autopsy is planned for Monday to determine the exact cause of death.

According to Radar, when Marcus arrived, Jett had no pulse or respiration. His mom, Kelly Preston, reportedly asked, “Is he breathing? Are you helping him? Are you getting him back? Is he coming back?”

Kelly and husband John Travolta reportedly joined Jett and the crew in the ambulance, holding their son’s hands and saying, “Come on, Jett.”

Jett was pronounced dead at the hospital. Amid his grief, John took the time to thank the EMT.

“He tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Good job, good job,’” Marcus told the site.

Family lawyer Michael Ossi told Access Hollywood on Friday that Jett had a “history of seizures,” and he was known to have suffered from Kawasaki disease. Some reports have questioned whether Jett received the proper medical care, due to possible restrictions on medications thanks to the family’s belief in Scientology, but a source close to the Travolta family denied that to Access on Sunday.

“They structured their lives around taking care of their son,” the source told Access.

“There certainly wasn’t anything about their religious beliefs that would have prevented them from seeking the best possible medical attention and care for Jett,” the source continued. “John and Kelly took no options off the table in terms of taking care of their son, medical or otherwise.”

And John’s corporate and commercial lawyer, Michael McDermott, told Radar on Sunday that Jett had, in fact, formerly used anti-seizure medication.

“They gave him an anti-seizure medication Depakote for over a year,” he told the site. “It extended the seizures out to over 21 days. But ultimately the attacks got closer and closer, they had to give more and more medication, and it started to cause organ damage so they stopped.”

McDermott believed Jett was no longer on the medication at the time of his death, though Jett had round-the-clock care and supervision from two nannies as well as other safety precautions.

[gwen]

Jett Travolta Autopsy May Never Be Public

The Ministry of Heath in the Bahamas tells TMZ the autopsy findings in the death of John Travolta's son may never be public.

Dr. Hubert Minnis says a pathologist at Rand Memorial Hospital (where Jett Travolta was pronounced dead) is currently performing the autopsy, which should take several hours. Dr. Minnis says he personally decided, because of the high profile nature of the case, to bring in a second pathologist from Nassau, Dr. Karen Sands. Dr. Minnis made a point to us that Dr. Sands is an American.

The doctor says once the pathologists complete a preliminary report, it's forwarded on to a coroner. The coroner then forwards the completed report to the Travolta/Preston family. Dr. Minnis says only the family has authority to release the findings to the public. No word if that will happen.

[gwen]

Autopsy Today for John Travolta's Son
Autopsy Results May be Known Today, Funeral Likely to Feature Scientology Teachings

Three days after Jett Travolta's death, mystery continues to surround the case of John Travolta's 16-year-old son.

Officials in the Bahamas say they have called in two forensic pathologists, including an American physician, to perform an autopsy today. Mark Smith, the Travolta family doctor, has also received permission from the Bahamian government to attend the procedure, according to The Associated Press.

A possible cause of death may be known by the end of the day, the Bahamas health minister told The Associated Press.

Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham sent condolences to the Travolta family and said the autopsy is a formality the country requires in cases of sudden death to rule out foul play.

"We look forward to them being able to have the autopsy today and for the coroner to be able to make a decision so the body can be released," Ingraham told reporters.

On Sunday, John Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston, issued their first public statement since Jett died Friday. He apparently hit his head on the bathtub during a seizure at their vacation home in the Bahamas.

"Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered," said the statement posted on John Travolta's Web site. "We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives."

Scientology Funeral, Family Auditing Likely
After the autopsy, it's likely the parents, who are Scientologists, will have a church-inspired funeral for Jett, church observers say.

Scientology officials did not immediately respond to a request from ABC News to comment.

Stephen Kent, a professor of sociology and alternative religions at the University of Alberta and an expert on Scientology, described typical proceedings:

"Someone will give readings from [Scientology founder] L. Ron Hubbard, including possibly a eulogy. It will be difficult for Scientologists to talk about a young man's life. It's likely they'll talk more about his parents' love for him," he said. "Scientologists are flexible about whether the body or ashes must be present at the funeral. There can even just be a picture of the person. Certainly, non-Scientologists can come to the funeral."

Scientologists don't believe in heaven, Kent explained. Instead, they believe in a process similar to reincarnation, in which the "thetan," or spirit, leaves the body and attaches itself to a new one after death.

"A Scientology funeral is likely to emphasize the movement of the thetan from attachment to this body to attachment to another body," Kent said. "The hope is that the thetan will come back in better times, with a better body, with a better spiritual nature."

Kent said he would expect Tom Cruise; Cruise's wife, Katie Holmes; and other members of Hollywood's elite Scientology contingent to attend. After the funeral, it's likely the organization will ask Travolta, his family and Jett's caretakers to undergo evaluations to banish any ill feelings about the tragedy.


Jett's Untimely Death
A house caretaker found the teenager unconscious in the bathroom Friday morning, police say.

"A nanny attempted to revive him, all attempts were made, but he couldn't be revived," John Travolta's attorney Michael Ossi, who is also in the Bahamas, told ABCNews.com Friday. "They tried as hard as they could to revive Jett."

An ambulance took him to a Freeport hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The family, including Jett Travolta's 8-year-old sister, Ella, had been celebrating the new year in the Bahamas.

Ossi said that the teenager "has had seizures in the past, but they were controlled. This one couldn't be."

Royal Bahamas Police Force spokeswoman Loretta Mackey told the AP that Jett Travolta died from hitting his head in a bathtub.

Obie Wilchcombe, a parliament member and former tourism minister in the Bahamas, told the AP he expects a "quick resolution" for the autopsy.

Possible Role of Kawasaki Syndrome
Jett Travolta's health made national news in 2002 when his mother disclosed that at age 2 he had a poorly understood condition known as Kawasaki syndrome, a collection of symptoms that stem from swollen arteries.

KS primarily affects children younger than 5, though it can occur in older children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about nine out of 100,000 children have KS. The incidence is higher among Japanese and Korean children, though KS can occur among any ethnicity.

KS expert Dr. Robert Frenck, a professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious disease at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital, said KS, however, is not usually associated with deadly seizures -- especially in children who have already recovered from KS, which he said is a temporary condition.

"If there's a major complication, and if someone dies from it, it is a [coronary] aneurysm," he said. "It doesn't happen frequently, but that is what we really worry about. ... That can set the kids up for a heart attack."

The New York Post and other media outlets have in the past published unconfirmed reports that John Travolta's son has autism, though the family has always maintained that he suffered only from KS. Autism is associated with seizures.

"There is a relationship between autism and seizures; as many as 40 percent of children and young adults with autism may experience seizure and adolescence is a particular time of vulnerability," said Dr. Bryan King, the director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Seattle Children's Hospital's Research Center for Health Services and Behavioral Research.

"There are hormonal changes that could increase the risk of seizure, and certainly there are ongoing brain changes that take place during adolescence, but no one knows why the risk increases in older children."

Travolta's Tragic Loss
Regardless of the cause, Ossi said that the family is now grieving. He added that the incident "is the worst pain any parent can experience, the loss of child."

Speaking for John Travolta, Ossi said, "This is the worst day of his life."

Ossi said that Dr. Mark Smith, the Travolta family doctor, plans to give a statement after the autopsy.

In multiple interviews, John Travolta and Preston always attributed their son's illness to carpet-cleaning products they once used in the house.

"It was about seven years ago and I was obsessive about cleaning -- his space being clean, so we constantly had the carpets cleaned," John Travolta told Larry King in 2001. "And I think, between him, the fumes and walking around, maybe picking up pieces or something, he got what is rarely a thing to deal with, but it's Kawasaki syndrome."

"Jett's whole immune system shut down and he got really sick with high fevers -- 104 and 105. He developed a rash on his body and swollen lymph glands -- it was horrible," Preston told the U.K Mirror in 2004.

"Clearly if anything about Jett's death could reflect badly on Scientology, the organization will go to great lengths to handle the problem," Kent said.

Scientology, the religion that John Travolta has followed for about two decades, considers psychiatric drugs and counseling damaging.

In a 1999 news conference about his movie "The General's Daughter," he disputed assertions that TV and films encourage kids to commit violent crimes and instead linked their cause to drugs.

"My personal thinking is that some of these murders have to do with drugs -- psychiatric drugs, street drugs," he said. "They've found a lot of common denominators are things like Prozac that are altering people's states of mind."

Preston, John Travolta's wife, also came to Cruise's defense in 2005, when he was criticized for his public attack on Brooke Shields for using psychotropic medication to ease her postpartum depression.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/Min ... 215&page=3

[gwen]

Travolta Death Cert Lists Seizure
Posted Jan 5th 2009 4:53PM by TMZ Staff

Jett Travolta's death certificate lists "seizure" as the cause of death.

No word on the coroner's findings, at least not yet.

The funeral home says "The body was in great condition and shows no sign of head trauma," despite police and family who say the boy hit his head either on the toilet seat, bathtub or both.

The body is currently en route to the airport to be flown back to Florida.

Story developing

[AlwaysL8]

There is no greater love than a parent's love for their child.

[gwen]

Jett Travolta Autopsy: Death By Seizure Disorder

FREEPORT, Bahamas — Jett Travolta's body shows no sign of head trauma and his death certificate says he was killed by a seizure, an undertaker said Monday, as the 16-year-old's celebrity parents prepared to return his remains to the United States.

Glen Campbell, assistant director of the Bahamian funeral home handling the remains of John Travolta's son, told The Associated Press that the body is in "great condition," despite police officials who had said the teen hit his head on a bathtub.

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

Authorities didn't release the results of an autopsy performed 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.

Late Monday, a black hearse traveled from the funeral home to the airport after the family indicated they were bringing Jett's remains to Ocala, Florida, where they own a home. Two white jets waited as police in dress uniforms blocked access to the tarmac.

But the hearse was dispatched as a ruse, funeral home director Keith McSweeney told a news conference later Monday, adding that Jett's remains were actually being cremated. He said the family was planning to leave the Bahamas with the ashes on Tuesday. He said he could not explain the reason for the decoy.

In a public statement released Sunday, John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston said they were "heartbroken that our time with him was so brief."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/0 ... 55398.html

[olympic]

As we mentioned yesterday, more details about the tragic death of John Travolta's 16-year-old son, Jett, have been released.

According to the Travolta family, Jett's seizures were "frequent and extremely serious." John's attorneys added that "each seizure was like a death," with Jett often losing consciousness and even convulsing.

At times he'd average a seizure once every four days, until he started to take anti-seizure medication.

Travolta's lawyers, claim that Jett had been taking a drug called Depakote, which is a strong anti-seizure medication, denying the rumors that John's Scientology beliefs prevented him from medicating his son.

The attorneys say the drug worked and reduced the number of attacks to once every three weeks. However, they add that after "several years" of Jett taking the medication, it eventually lost its effectiveness and he went back to having a seizure every week.

So after consulting with neurosurgeons they stopped administrating the medication.

Tough times for John and his family.

[olympic]

The body of John Travolta's 16-year-old son Jett will be cremated, a Travolta family friend told Usmagazine.com after a press conference on Monday evening.

The press conference was held by Keith McSweeney, owner of Grand Bahama's Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium, and Obie Wilchcombe, a family friend and member of the Bahamian parliament.

After the conference, Wilchcombe told Us that they body was being cremated.

The cremation process can take seven hours, the press conference revealed. No other new information was revealed.

Earlier on Monday afternoon, a source confirmed to Usmagazine.com that the autopsy on Jett revealed his death was caused by a seizure disorder.

Jett's autopsy was completed Monday at the Rand Memorial Hospital in the Bahamas, though no official results -- including a cause of death -- were revealed.

The boy's body was transported from the hospital to Restview Memorial on Monday afternoon after two doctors, including a U.S.-certified pathologist, performed the autopsy. (A family doctor for Travolta was also present.)

The source confirms to Us that Jett was pronounced dead at 12:14 p.m. on Jan. 2.

Check out never-seen pictures the actor has released of his late son, Jett.

The Travolta family was expected to send his remains by Wednesday to Ocala, Fla., where the actor owns a home, said Wilchcombe.

Jett died while on vacation with his family in the Bahamas. He hit his head on a bathtub after suffering a seizure. (The boy had a history of having seizures.)

On Sunday, Travolta and Preston released a statement thanking friends and fans for their condolences.

"Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered," they said. "We are heartbroken that our time with him was so brief. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives." [/img]

[olympic]

So sad.

God Bless John, Kelly and their family.

john and family don't believe in god

[gwen]

Travoltas Plan Service For Son On Thursday
Neighbors Welcome Grieving Family Home

POSTED: 10:02 am EST January 6, 2009
UPDATED: 6:36 pm EST January 6, 2009

OCALA, Fla. -- Actor John Travolta and wife, Kelly Preston, are back in Florida with the remains of their 16-year-old son. They are planning a service on Thursday.

A Bahamian parliament member and family friend said the couple left the island chain Monday night after receiving an urn with Jett Travolta's ashes. The family is planning a funeral in Central Florida.

Residents and neighbors who live in Ocala's Jumbolair community awaited the arrival of the Travoltas, who were vacationing in the Bahamas when an apparent seizure claimed the boy's life.

The Travoltas have lived in the Jumbolair community for six years. Neighbors said they're waiting to welcome the grieving family home.

Some local residents are giving the Travolta family space, while others are going to his gated community and placing flowers.

A small private memorial service planned for Thursday.

"He may be famous, but he's just one of us here in the neighborhood. You know, we see the kids, and they see our kids. We're all one family here, you know. It's just not something that's supposed to happen," Jacob Urbowicz said.

Urbowicz said he remembers Jett Travolta as a happy teenager. He recalled seeing him riding along the runway in a golf cart, smiling and waving.

http://www.wesh.com/entertainment/18420496/detail.html

[olympic]

Millions of children and adults have seizures in the United States, but dying from one is rare. That only adds to the confusion and mystery surrounding the life and death of Jett Travolta, the 16-year-old son of actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston.

The death certificate lists a seizure as the cause of death, according to an undertaker in the Bahamas, where the boy died Friday. Family representatives and lawyers declined requests Tuesday for more information, fueling speculation that has swirled for years about the boy's health.

A Travolta attorney said the teen had a history of seizures, and John Travolta has said his son was successfully treated when he was 2 for a rare disease called Kawasaki syndrome, which can lead to heart disease and related problems.

Medical specialists who did not treat the boy told The Associated Press on Tuesday that while Kawasaki syndrome is poorly understood, it's extremely unlikely the disease had anything to do with the teen's death.

Gossip magazines and blogs long have suggested the boy also had autism — a claim John Travolta denied. Autism is frequently accompanied by seizures that experts believe may stem from the same brain abnormalities that cause the developmental disorder.

Dr. Michael Kohrman, a University of Chicago pediatric neurologist, said up to one-third of children with autism have some sort of seizure disorder.

Still, there are dozens of other causes of seizures. Recurrent seizures are sometimes called epilepsy and are caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. These affect more than 3 million Americans.

Mild seizures can be barely noticeable; severe ones can cause convulsing and loss of consciousness.

"Sudden death in epilepsy is not an unheard-of phenomenon," said Dr. Bruce Cohen, a staff neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic.

It can happen with seizures lasting more than 15 or 20 minutes, typically when medicine stops working or if patients quit taking medicine, Cohen said. One way death occurs in these cases is respiratory muscles weaken from prolonged convulsions and the patient stops breathing, he explained.

More rarely, he said, about one in 1,000 epileptics die each year from a condition doctors call "sudep," or a sudden unexplained death that typically occurs with no sign of a seizure. Whether this happened to Jett Travolta or whether autopsy officials in the Bahamas know that term is uncertain.

"We're dealing with a massive lack of information," Cohen said.

Michael Ossi, an attorney for the Travoltas, and Samantha Mast, a Travolta publicist, told the AP by e-mail that they would not discuss details of the boy's illness.

Jett Travolta's body was cremated, and the autopsy report has not been released.

The Travoltas have said little about their son's condition and his medical treatment over the years. The couple are Scientologists, followers of the controversial religion created by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.

The church is not commenting specifically on the Travolta case. But church policy is for members to seek a doctor for medical treatment of a physical condition, including taking any drugs prescribed.

"The bottom line is that Scientologists seek conventional medical treatment for medical conditions," said Tommy Davis, a spokesman for the Church of Scientology International in Los Angeles.

Kawasaki syndrome, the disease the family has said sickened Jett when he was a toddler, can cause inflammation in blood vessels and arteries. It typically features a persistent high fever accompanied by symptoms that can include bloodshot eyes; swelling in hands, feet and neck lymph nodes; a red rash on the arms and legs; and cracked, swollen lips.

Most cases occur in the first five years of life, and if treated promptly with aspirin and intravenous gamma globulin, children are essentially cured, said Dr. Cody Meissner, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Tufts Medical Center in Boston.

While inflammation can sometimes lead to burst arteries or heart damage, Meissner said most children have no complications. And those who do would develop them soon after diagnosis — not several years later, Meissner said.

"If 10 years or more had gone by, it would be very unlikely that seizure activity could be attributed to Kawasaki disease," Meissner said.

Kelly Preston blamed household cleaners and fertilizers for the disease and said a detoxification program based on Scientology teachings helped improve his health, according to People magazine.

Meissner said there is scientific evidence linking professional-strength carpet cleaners with the disease.

Davis, the Scientology spokesman, acknowledged the detoxification program, but said its benefits are spiritual.

"Scientology is a religion," he said. "We deal with the spirit, and mental and spiritual factors that affect someone's happiness and well-being."

[olympic]

In a heartfelt MySpace blog post, Lisa Marie Presley expresses her deepest sympathies for her "very good friends," John Travolta and Kelly Preston, whose 16-year-old son Jett was killed by a seizure Jan. 2.

"I wished I could be writing you under happier circumstances, but I cannot because two of my very good friends, the sweetest people in the world, have just encountered the worst possible tragedy a parent could be forced to endure, the death of their son Jett.

"My heart is crying and bleeding for them," she writes. "I personally would not have it in me to bury my own child."

Check out never-seen pictures the actor has released of his late son, Jett.

Presley goes on to ask fans not to "use this horrible tragedy as an opportunity to once again, blame and or attack Scientology," the Travolta family's religion.

"Folks, as popular as it has been to discriminate and ridicule Scientology and Scientologists in the recent past, now is NOT the time. I realize that there is a lot of misinformation out there about the subject, which has caused a lot of stone throwing, but we are not still in the dark ages, and it is still an unconstitutional injustice to partake in and encourage such condemnation.

See today's top celeb news photos.

She continues, "It is not true that Scientologists 'don't believe in' medical care, medicine or medical doctors and that may have something to do with this terrible tragedy.

"Just like anyone else, if one is sick, they go to the doctor. If a medication will make it better, then they take it. If they don’t, then they are an idiot, and you can't blame their religion.

"Whatever medical and or physical condition Jett had, I can tell you first hand that his parents were on a tireless, never-ending quest to get and provide him with the absolute best care anyone could ever ask for and need -- medically, physically, emotionally, medicinally and spiritually," she says.

"I am not writing this to preach my beliefs. I am here to protect my friends.

"John and Kelly have done nothing but spend their lives and their time helping others, making people happy and making peoples lives better," Presley writes. "Please let this family grieve in peace."

[olympic]

Two Marion County motorcycle sheriff's deputies leave the entrance to the Jumbolair Aviation Estates, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009 in Ocala, Fla., where actor John Travolta and his family are reported to be at their home following the death of his son in the Bahamas. The Travolta family is back in their home in the complex after returning from the Bahamas.

[olympic]

A photographer shoots a picture of a florist delivery at the entrance to the Jumbolair Aviation Estates where actor John Travolta and his family lives Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009 near Ocala, Fla. The Travolta family is back in their home in the complex after returning from the Bahamas, where their 16-year-old son, Jett, died at the family vacation home in Grand Bahama.

[olympic]

Diana McCarty of Citra, Fla., bows her head after laying a rose at the entrance to the Jumbolair Aviation Estates where actor John Travolta lives Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009 near Ocala, Fla