John Travolta's Son's Death - vs Scientology Practices

There were no other meds? I have been wondering if Scientology was against drugs (prescribed).

KarenT

Scientology terrifies me.

When I first heard about this, I had a suspicion that he was not taking any medication

I wouldn't be surprised if he had none in his system either, and now that the body is cremated, we will never know

mike3775 wrote:

When I first heard about this, I had a suspicion that he was not taking any medication

I wouldn't be surprised if he had none in his system either, and now that the body is cremated, we will never know

I think, given that there was an autopsy, the tissue and organs will be tested for all types of substances.

All I know, if they find no trace of anti seizure medication in them, then the feds need to go after them like they do the other people who deny their children medical care because of religious beliefs

Whats funny, is I cannot join that religion, I don;t have enough $$$$$$ to join

mike3775 wrote:

All I know, if they find no trace of anti seizure medication in them, then the feds need to go after them like they do the other people who deny their children medical care because of religious beliefs

Whats funny, is I cannot join that religion, I don;t have enough $$$$$$ to join

That's right, it takes a lot of money to become stupid.

Mike's point is exactly what I was trying to make, Lois. You stated that the tissue and organs would show no medication, and that's outrageous!

If you had a son that had seizures like that, and was given medication that reduced the seizures to the amount of occurences, they claim, and later say that it lost its effectiveness, would you subject your child to resorting back to 4 seizures a week, or whatever, knowing there may be an alternative medicine out there so he wouldn't have to suffer those convulsive seizures?

I love John Travolta and his wife. No doubt in my mind they thought they were doing the best as parents and cherished him with all their hearts. But when it comes to religion interfering with medicine, I don't believe in that.

I would have sought any doctor anywhere, for another alternative medicine to aleviate the convulsions/seizures. The fact they brought up an illness at two years old, that experts claimed doesn't exist after 8 years of age, and doesn't cause death, makes me wonder if they brought religious beliefs into their hearts when it came to treating the child's illness.

When they first announced his passing and before they revealed he may was a child of special needs, before I even read that John Travolta's brother always clashed that his son had autism...and the fact that they revealed the Church of Scientology doesn't acknowledge autism, I knew by viewing the son on TV, that "something wasn't right". His deameanor, his eyes, his actions told me something was wrong at age 16.

I believe in my heart they didn't find any medication in his tissue or organs, because they followed the beliefs of their religion. I also believe they didn't want controversy, and had him cremated for a reason.

I think if they were normal parents not involved in that type of religion, the child would have led a much normal life. My heart just tells me that...It's something I would seek the world over, asking for expert opinions rather than revert to taking away a medicine that reduced his seizures, only to have him to return and suffer the amount of seizures per week he resorted to.

As much as I love them, and mourn for them, I still insist that their religion actually accelerated his death. Not to mention making him suffer so much more than he had to. No reason for accepting that many seizures a week and thinking he wasn't little by little dying inside. Nope.

I'm not saying they helped kill him, but I am saying they didn't go out of their way to seek real help that is out there to help that child lead a more healthful life. Imagine the pain and turmoil going through those seizures.

My St. Bernard suffered that for two years before having a seizure in the lake and drowning. Medicine was 100.00 a month to prevent them. If you saw what they go through when they have seizures, it would scare the pants off of you. The seizures dwindled, from a few times a week to "you never knew when". Unfortunately, in the water, we couldn't revive him, once we lifted him out of the water. But that was a dog. Not a human being. We tried different medications...you just have to be with them at all times to help them out of it. When it came to water, we couldn't get him out fast enough. We did CPR; it couldn't be helped.

I wonder just how long this kid went without medication. To think we cared more about our St. Bernard...compare that to what happened to Jett. Yes, I believe Jett was out of site too long. But I also think medication would have helped.

Death of Travolta's son raises medical questions
By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner, Ap Medical Writer – Tue Jan 6, 6:19 pm ET


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."

___

AP Religion Writer Eric Gorski in Denver contributed to this report.




"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."

Says in this article the church policy is for seeking a doctor for medical treatment.None of us know the facts or reasons why he wasn't on meds,except for his family and doctors.So why condemn the family without knowing the full story.

UrRight wrote:

Mike's point is exactly what I was trying to make, Lois. You stated that the tissue and organs would show no medication, and that's outrageous!

No, I stated that they would . . .

LoisLane wrote:

I think, given that there was an autopsy, the tissue and organs will be tested for all types of substances.

Oops! You're right. Well, guess we will never know...but Lisa Presley was on the web, saying the religion doesn't forbid medication.

Some reports said it preaches no medication, but spirituality. Which is it?

I feel so bad for them.

Its whatever floats the persons boat UrRight

Tom Cruise doesn't believe in them, but Travolta may

To me, any adult who refuses to give a child medication for religious reasons, does not deserve to have kids

We may not know that, but you would think they would say something though by now

Its sad, but its also sad when you hear differing accounts on what the "religion" says as well

I'm wondering if they don't want "mind altering drugs" because it might actually wake their "followers" up to the mind-F* they've been given
(*please excuse my French)

Ohhmama wrote:

I'm wondering if they don't want "mind altering drugs" because it might actually wake their "followers" up to the mind-F* they've been given
(*please excuse my French)

What you stated, is what I believed happened to Jett. And no, it deserves the "mind-F* non-french word at all, in this case. John's brother was an advocate of Autism and the article stated he argued with John about Jett. I would think the uncle (John Travolta's brother), could see as well as the rest of us, that he did not appear to be the typical teen, when they exposed him on TV.

The fact that the uncle had squats with his brother, well, maybe it's larger than we'll ever know. But at the end, it's not our business. I guess just curiosity...