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John Travolta and Kelly Preston have been subjected to a great deal of criticism over speculation that their son Jett had autism rather than a rare disorder called Kawasaki Syndrome as the couple insisted.
Yet when Jett died today at age 16 after a seizure in a Bahamas hotel, Kawasaki began to look like a possible culprit.
Complications of Kawasaki Syndrome include coronary artery dilations and aneurysms. It is a leading cause of acquired heart disease in the United States.
And because blood vessel function can be affected throughout the body, children with Kawasaki Syndrome may be subject to seizures, according to Dr. Alan Greene, online pediatric expert for WebMD and author of an award-winning web site.
We have no idea whether or not Jett was autistic, but there certainly seems to be plenty of tragic evidence that he did suffer from Kawasaki Syndrome.
RELATED STORIES:
- Breaking News: John Travolta's son dies after bathtub fall in the Bahamas
- Update: John Travolta's son Jett Travolta died after seizure
[ Photo: LA Times ]
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Comments
Jett didn't have to die. Scientology beliefs kept his parents from seeking state of the art medical care for seizures. Lots of kids with autism have seizures. It is very common.
2 days into the New Year and BAM! Tomorrow is never promised to anyone.
Good updates Liz!
Victory
Atlanta Dating Examiner
My condolences to the Travolta family - it is such a tragedy to lose a child. I do want to clear up some of the misconceptions that have pervaded the news coverage of this young man's passing. As a pediatrician, I have treated many children with Kawasaki disease (KD). It is not, as news reports make it seem, a chronic condition but is an acute, often severe condition. Kelly Preston's description of what her son suffered at 15 months of age is an accurate description of a typical Kawasaki disease course, which often lasts from days to weeks. However, once the fevers disappear, the long-term consequences are typically cardiac in nature, not neurologic. In this rare illness that strikes only 1 in 5,000 children, it is far rarer to experience seizures. Those seizures are typically febrile seizures, which have a low likelihood of leading to long-term epilepsy. Media images of Jett Travolta usually show facial expressions and behaviors, such as tip-toe walking, that are more consistent with autism spectrum disorders. There is a strong association of autism spectrum with seizure disorders--a much, much stronger link than the few case reports associating KD with seizures. I am sure that the Travoltas started noticing Jett's symptoms around the time he was diagnosed with KD because, well, that's around the time most children with autism first present with symptoms. Furthermore, it is preposterous to claim with certainty nearly anything about Kawasaki disease, whose etiology is largely a mystery to medical researchers. While we as outsiders to their family will never know nor do we have a right to know all of the details of Jett's private life, the idea that his symptoms and level of functioning were definitely due to Kawasaki disease is a highly unlikely one.
As the mother of two girls (one with Kawasaki Disease, Mitochondrial Disease and Seizures, and one with Autism, Mitochondrial Disease and Seizures) my heart breaks for the Travoltas.
My hope and prayer is that people don't start blaming the Travolta's for their son's death due to however they decided to treat (or not treat) his disorder(s). It's too soon to tell what exactly caused the seizure or the "sickness" he suffered from before he fell...so I just hope that they do find a cause and that people will surround this family with love as they grieve the loss of their son.
For more information on Kawasaki Disease, please visit kdfoundation.org or www.myspace.com/kawasakisdisease.
Please help spread awareness of KD!!! God bless.
JN
The Travoltas had a right to treat their son however they choose! There is no right way to treat Autism (if he even had it!) Nobody has the right to pass judgement on anyone until they walk in their shoes. RIP Jett and I pray that his family can find peace and grieve in peace.
As the mother of a son who had Kawasaki Disease at age 2, I was grateful to see the post from the pediatrician whom has treated Kawasaki patients. Jett Travolta's death is tragic and my prayers go out to his family. But it was very frightening to read numerous reports blaming his death on KS. I have been of the understanding after many years of followup on my son that any long term KS issues are cardiac in nature rather than neurological. I can only pray that this tragedy sheds light on both KS & autism and helps in the research, prevention and cure of both conditions.
Having lost a brother who died at age 20 of something totally unrelated to Kawasaki syndrome, I hope people remember that losing a loved one is deeply painful. No matter what the cause of death. I hope people are compassionate enough to ease up on the gossip about their religious or spiritual beliefs and how that may have affected any medical treatment and realize that these are parents who loved their child deeply and did what they believed was in his best interests, always. They are grieving, and my heart goes out to them. Nothing anyone can say can make this better, but what we say can indeed make their hurt more profound, and I hope people show some humanity and respect for them. They lost their beloved son. I would like to think that people can put aside their gossip and criticism and empathize with that loss.
time will solve everything!!! God bless him.........................
que deus te conforte viu abraços
thats really sad sorry i feel ur pain ive gone throw it!
iam realy sorry about your son his pic look realy swite and i hope you feel better now iam sorry this is realy sad vary sad
Jett certainly looks autistic to me.I should know;I too have an autistic son. Although we did not have movie-star wealth, we sought the best medical care for Jordan. Thanks to early intervention, he now shares a group home with four housemates.All five of these young men receive good medical care. We hope they will all live long, healthy lives, safe from sick religions like scientology. Poor Jett deserved the same.
How very sad that Jett drew the short straw of Religion instead of the long one of Medical Care...especially since his parents could have easily afforded the best doctors and early interventions.
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