John Travolta on deceased son Jett: "He was autistic".

[Barack_America]

From John Travolta: I Ran Down the Stairs To Help My Son

John Travolta's Heartbreaking Last Moments with his Son


John Travolta took the stand today to testify against two people accused of trying to extort $25 million from the actor in the aftermath of his son's tragic death.

With his actress wife Kelly Preston looking on inside a Bahamas courtroom, Travolta said that he performed CPR on his son after a nanny alerted him the teen had fallen ill at a family vacation home on Grand Bahama island. The chronically ill Jett Travolta, 16, later died from a seizure.

"I ran downstairs with my wife to help my son," Travolta said, according to the Associated Press. In his testimony, he said he and Preston were awakened by a nanny around 10:15 a.m. on Jan. 2, the day of Jett's death. Travolta said when he went downstairs, another caretaker was doing chest compressions and he began administering breathing help.

The actor testified that his son Jett, 16, was autistic and suffered seizures every five to 10 days. He said the seizures would last 45 seconds to a minute and Jett typically slept for 12 hours after each one. "He was autistic. He suffered from a seizure disorder," Travolta told the jury when asked about his son's condition....

More:
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/john-travolta-bahamas-testify-extortion-case/Story?id=8649816&page=1


Thoughts on Scientology aside, I very much hope that publicly revealing Jett's autism helps the family receive some closure in this tragedy. And I am horrified by the individuals who tried to capitalize on the death of a child.

[Captain Hilts]

1. Well said. nt

[hlthe2b]

2. Scientology aside, I think Travolta and Preston are good people

dealing with the most horrendous of tragedies. I wish them the peace they deserve after such a profound loss.

[TwilightGardener]

3. His seizures sound like they were very poorly controlled--

does Scientology prohibit things like anti-seizure meds, the way they prohibit anti-depressants?

[Barack_America]

5. There has been speculation regarding that.

But the facts of the situation are unclear.

[kickysnana]

10. John Travolta's Son: Meds Ultimately Didn't Work

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.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2009/01/05/john-travoltas-son-meds-ultimately-did-harm/#ixzz0S2F0LPQP

[TwilightGardener]

13. There are other anti-seizure meds out there--it just doesn't sound

like they were very aggressive with his treatment, but at least they were trying to get him some help.

[Jennicut]

4. I feel for John and his wife Kelly. I am not fond of Scientology but people

trying to take advantage of your son's death only compounds the tragedy. And he has admitted his son was autistic...having seizures every few days. Very, very sad.

[pnwmom]

6. Is it taking advantage of Jett's death to point out that Scientology's practices

are putting people like him at risk?

[Barack_America]

7. Gray area.

Because we don't know what treatment he was receiving.

His parents apparently accepted his diagnosis, privately, that is. I am hopeful that they also sough appropriate treatment privately.

IMO, they did their son a disservice by denying his condition publicly, but I very much hope that was the extent of their disservice to him. If it wasn't, well, I can't imagine what we have to say about it would factor into the punishment they are already receiving, IYKWIM.

[Jennicut]

14. Yes, but they were giving their son anti-seizure medication

Like I said, I am not fond of Scientology but it sounds like they did what they could for him. Unless there are other facts otherwise, then this is someone hoping to make a buck off a child's death and that is wrong and only exacerbates the pain for the parents.

[pnwmom]

16. No, they had stopped giving him anti-seizure medication.

They had given him Depakote for a period of years, which had reduced the frequency of his seizures. But when the drug stopped being as effective, and seizures returned to about once a week, they stopped the treatment. The usual medical protocol, if Depakote no longer worked, would be to substitute one or a combination of dozens of OTHER anti-seizure medications, but there is no evidence that they did.

It is a terrible tragedy for the Travoltas that they will have to live with the possibility that their decision to attempt ineffective Scientology "treatments" instead might have led to their son's death. It would be an even bigger tragedy if other children were to die in the future because the lesson was not learned in this case.

[CJCRANE]

8. Shouldn't that be "epileptic"?

Am I missing something here?

"Autistic" means something different to what Travolta is describing.

[Barack_America]

9. Autism sufferers often suffer seizures.

And their seizures are often severe.

[CJCRANE]

11. Okay, I didn't realize that.

I thought Autism was just behavioral. I've learnt something knew.

[sabbat hunter]

12. one can suffer from both conditions n/t

[CJCRANE]

15. Thanks for the info.

It seems I was somewhat ignorant on this topic, I've learnt a bit more.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

17. Many children with seizure disorders are developmentally delayed.

Without a full review of his medical records it would be difficult to determine exactly what conditions the child actually suffered from. Autism is used to define so many conditions now, 33 or more, it is difficult to know what is really going on medically.