John Travolta's son

Just read that John Travolta & Kelly Preston's son, Jett, died on January 1st (I believe). It appears to be related to seizure problems he's suffered from all his life. Not a good way to start off a new year. He was only 16.

I read that too. I can't imagine losing a child.

enjay your avatar, is that you?

That´s sure sad news...

Yeah when I read about this I was actually quite saddened.. maybe because John and his wife seem like genuinely nice people, and their son is so young.. and it makes you realise how quickly life can be ended..


Kid.

John's wife is from here, visited here last year I think
had some expensive fund raiser

kelley68 wrote:

John's wife is from here, visited here last year I think
had some expensive fund raiser

And John Travolta is from Englewood , NJ He's Dad owned a tire place Travolta tires in Westwood, NJ. The tire place still is standing. Of course different owner. Before Travolta made it with the Welcome Back Carter gig. He dated a chick I knew through my cousin. Not serious , they hung out alot. He was always a nice guy. And his mom was cool too.

I think David Cassidy is from Englewood NJ too probably the same neighborhood as John?
(I wasn't a David Fan much,, but I always loved the Partridge Family show, those stage outfits were awesome )

I wish the media would give it a rest about their Scientology beliefs. I don't believe any parent would intentionally withhold medical treatment or use unethical medical treatments if they didn't believe it wasn't in the best interest of their child.
As a parent I've spent many nights pacing the floor with a sick baby, high fever, wondering "how high do I let the fever get?" or "How many times of vomiting is too much before they're dehydrated?" etc etc.
I can't imagine the stress of raising a child who suffers from seizures and not knowing what the best course of action would be. I'm sure the Travolta's spent many hours, many sleepless hours, trying to decide what the best treatment would be.
Who are we (the world) to judge how anyone would choose to handle that situation? I always say, walk a mile in someone else's shoes before jumping to conclusions. No one should have to bury their child.
The same works in reverse in caring for parents, or brothers, sisters, uncles or aunts. Who are "we" to judge how one person cares for another?
Clarification: Let's leave out cases of blatent disregard for health care such as starvation, locking children in a basement or a cage "for their own safety," and B.S. like that.

I'll get off my political soapbox now......

I read an article saying something along the lines that there was constant supervision of Jett by a full-time nanny, and an alarm on to alert them whenever he was coming or going. Somehow, I doubt that he was denied medical care for his conditions. Anyone who is a caring, loving, emotionally stable parent would do what is in the best interest of their child. Imho, I think the Travolta's loved that boy beyond words, and would keep his best interest in mind.


However, there are documented cases (one happened recently here in Wi.) where religious beliefs or simple ignorance prevent parents from obtaining proper medical care. Several years ago, when I was in practice in southern IL, I had a personal experience with a young child dying from untreated Type I Diabetes...it was awful because my colleagues and I had just returned from a week at Diabetes camp with this child, and we had grown very attached to him. When flight for life brought him into the ER, and we heard the code, we were all deeply saddened and frustrated by the unnecessary loss. It truly was a preventable tragedy.

But I don't think ignorance or lack of care was the case with Jett.

Just my two (or three) cents worth,
hrg

Personally I don't believe that Jett had a lack of personal attention either. But every time I turn on the TV here, I'm seeing blurbs about "What does Scientology really teach?" And, "Did the Travolta's really take Jett off all his medication because that's what the Church of Scientology preaches?"

Bull-shit!

How many times do you hear about a Lutheran, or a Methodist, or a Baptist dying? Never! Why should their religious beliefs come into play on this? It's horrible enough that they had to bury their son. Whatever course of medical treatment they chose was their business.

Albeit, yes, some people, because of religious beliefs, may not choose conventional medical treatment for their children. In the case you listed with the diabetic child HRG, I don't think it's my place to say that the parents should have chosen to put their child on insulin the rest of his/her life. It's a lifetime of ups & downs, child is still at risk, etc etc. I'm not saying I wouldn't do everything possible to save my child's life; but that's me.

And I don't want to argue your specific case, HRG, because that is someone you obviously knew personally, whereas I'm an outsider looking in. And cases involving children are just so heart-wrenching because you want to believe every possible angle was considered. Sometimes fate, or God, or whatever, stepped in and we're left to wonder why.

I just hate the fact the media has the guts to call into question how the Travolta's handled their son's medical issues. Let the family grieve!

"I just hate the fact the media has the guts to call into question how the Travolta's handled their son's medical issues. Let the family grieve!"

Well said Enjay07 !

enjay07 wrote:

Personally I don't believe that Jett had a lack of personal attention either. But every time I turn on the TV here, I'm seeing blurbs about "What does Scientology really teach?" And, "Did the Travolta's really take Jett off all his medication because that's what the Church of Scientology preaches?"

Bull-shit!

How many times do you hear about a Lutheran, or a Methodist, or a Baptist dying? Never! Why should their religious beliefs come into play on this? It's horrible enough that they had to bury their son. Whatever course of medical treatment they chose was their business.

Albeit, yes, some people, because of religious beliefs, may not choose conventional medical treatment for their children. In the case you listed with the diabetic child HRG, I don't think it's my place to say that the parents should have chosen to put their child on insulin the rest of his/her life. It's a lifetime of ups & downs, child is still at risk, etc etc. I'm not saying I wouldn't do everything possible to save my child's life; but that's me.

And I don't want to argue your specific case, HRG, because that is someone you obviously knew personally, whereas I'm an outsider looking in. And cases involving children are just so heart-wrenching because you want to believe every possible angle was considered. Sometimes fate, or God, or whatever, stepped in and we're left to wonder why.

I just hate the fact the media has the guts to call into question how the Travolta's handled their son's medical issues. Let the family grieve!

I agree, let the family have time to grieve. Unfortunately, because they are in the public eye, and there are media outlets out there who lack class and respect for others, the family is getting "raked over the coals" and their son's death is being looked at extensively. It is an excuse to have the media outlets take a closer look at Scientology, and what it teaches. I think that Scientology should be questioned, but to use Jett's death as a platform to push forward the discussion is disrespectful and tacky.

I don't want to argue over the case that I personally experienced years ago...I just wanted to tell you guys about it, to show that unfortunately, it does happen. Sorry if it came across as argumentative.

Look how the media has handled several other high profile deaths that might possibly have some curiosity to it...Anna Nicole Smith, her son, and Heath Ledger (just to name a few). There were conspiracies here and there, and those silly entertainment news shows had a field day with them. It just takes a terrible situation and makes it worse.

Blech,
hrg

just so you know, epilepsy is not always easily controlled and there is no cure for it. My older boy suffered this affliction in the form of Gran Mal seizures at the onset of Fever, they reached a peak at the age of 4 where he went into "status elipticus"(continual non stop seizure) while on his medication "phenobarbital" (the same stupid sh$t they were giving in the 1930s because they still dont understand the brain too well) in the emergency room.
They had to give him intravenous "ativan" that instantly caused the seizures to break and then after a night in the hospital, all they could do re-prescribe a double dose. This worked despite our fears at the time.

We are believers in miracles and our boy is now 12 doing quite well in life as an honor roll student, playing electric guitar and cello thanks to God choosing to heal him... ( IMO )

As much as we did not want to put him on any medication, we feel that because through
prayer we were guided to the right Neurologist and medication, our boy's seizures were
controlled until a time of healing came. Clinically the neurologist call it "remission", we
call it grace.

Why Jet was not granted this grace, I just dont know... my heart goes out to this family.
Life without my boys would not be the same, they complete me.
As much as I will never get Scientology I really pray that they find solace in the darkness.

Hey Tavo,
As a Father of 2 girls, my heart goes out to anybody that has something like that happen. Whether it is sickness, accident or death, kids are innocent and it has to be the hardest thing to live through. We're extremely fortunate that both our daughters haven't had anything happen to them except the usual colds/viruses etc.
My thoughts go out to everybody that has ever been in any unpleasant situation.