John Travolta’s son Jett, age 16, has died. Jett passed away after suffering a seizure at the family vacation home at Old Bahama Bay Hotel on Grand Bahama Island. The boy’s body was discovered by his caretaker, Jeff Michael Kathrain, at around 10 a.m. in a bathtub in the Travoltas’ suite, according to police superintendent Basil Rahming. He had not been seen by John or anyone else since he went to the bathroom the previous night. The theory is that Jett hit his head in the bathtub. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was declared dead at Rand Memorial Hospital on Grand Bahama Island. “We are still investigating,” Rahming said.
Jett has long been rumored to be autistic, and most certainly had medical issues. As John and his wife Kelly Preston are devout Scientologists, they allegedly denied any therapeutic autism treatments for Jett’s problems, and have kept him virtually hidden away for years. Seizures are not uncommon at all in autistic children, and Jett had suffered many previously. Travolta has always denied the autism claims, and contended that Jett had Kawasaki Syndrome, a poorly understood vascular disease which can affect the heart. Kelly Preston told Montel Williams that Jett was put on a special detox program as prescribed by Scientology. “He ended up getting better,” she said, but noted the boy still “has lots of allergies.”
The noise-canceling headphones Jett wore, however, are indicative of an autism-spectrum disorder. Scientologists consider any type of “mental disorder” as bogus, and someone who exhibits signs of such as inferior. As someone who has worked closely with autistic children for over a decade, video clips of Jett certainly look like he suffered from the disorder.
It is extremely rare for anyone over the age of 8 to have symptoms of Kawasaki Syndrome, an extremely rare syndrome itself. It is even more rare for someone to die from the syndrome. An autopsy will be held in the Bahamas on Monday. Video of the ambulance rushing Jett to the hospital is here.
Jett was the eldest child of John and Kelly; they also have a daughter, Ella Blue, age 8. Restview Memorial Mortuary and Crematorium in the Bahamas says Jett’s body will be transferred to them on Monday. We will be updating this breaking news as more info becomes available.
photo credit: splash news