Jett Travolta's death certificate released...he died from a seizure

[milivica]

and no signs of head trauma.

Make sure and see the family photos.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2009-01-04-travolta-autopsy_N.htm?csp=34

Gosh I'm feeling worse and worse for the parents by the hour. Sounds like this was a fear they lived with for a long long time, and now it's happened.

Doesn't sound like that Scientology stuff played any role in it after all, dunno if that will give any peace to the parents though. They're ******, we'll never really know more than media tells us, who knows how true it is...I can never tell.

Jett is at peace now, weather he had autism or not. The parents, my God, they'll have to live with losing him the rest of their lives. What grief.

[The Pogue]

Sounds like they took him off the depakote and expected dietary changes to control the seizures.

[word deleted by Moderator #3]

[LIZARD]

The conclusion that a sz was to blame upsets me so much. It is possible to die from a sz, but it's not a common thing. I have always had epi, and knowing he was taken off med makes me wonder: 1) when? and 2) how quickly? If it had been recently and quickly (especially if he abruptly stopped taking it), it's likely it was a status sz, which is often fatal. :( Knowing their Scientology involvement, I suspect they went completely against med advice. There are times when that's actually a wise decision (I have done it), but NOT in the case of severe epi, as he had. My heart hurts for them, but I think that if any of this is the case, they have to take some blame, and criminal nelgect charges could even be possible.

LIZARD, so sad about all of it...:(

[Kristen (ColeysMom)]

Pogue, what I heard was that the anticonvulsants weren't controlling the seizures, rather making them worse, and more frequent. The news described them as "very severe grand mal" ...

It is not a scientology approach to use dietary (I'm assuming the ketogentic diet) when meds fail... I would bet they even looked into surgery...course we will never know...but those are the only options if meds don't work, and often they don't...or they do then they stop being effective...he's 16.

When Coley was just 2 and started his meds, the docs told us the day he started that the goal was to get him off...the more dependent the brain gets to the med, the worse the seizures would get when they break through. From what I understand this is a relatively new perspective the docs have...after going through med after med after med with others only to get to where it seems Jett got...a place where nothing would stop them...then it was back to the tried and true...the ketogenic diet.

Lucky for us we quickly found his trigger and were able to remove it long enough for his brain to 'solidify connections' ... this is how it was explained to us...without that solidification Coley would have been dependant on meds, like many others before him...

I can understand them being petrified of what occured, that was our fear too, because the docs told us that it was a possibility as the brain 'retrained' itself off the meds...I'm sure that's why he had so many eyes watching him. Course he was 16, and a boy...the bathroom should be a private place for him. It's so VERY sad that it happened there!

RIP sweet boy!

[Mother's Heart]

We do not know what his situation was...but ANYone is vulnerable to a seizure at any point in time....and one with a seizure disorder is more vulnerable and there is no way to have perfect control, whether they take meds or not...and whether the seizures are considered to be "under control' by those meds or not. A multitude of things affect thresholds from day to day. And changes in the course of a seizure disorder occur without warning. requiring changing treatment approaches. This is especially true during the teen years. It's just not a cut-and-dried situation at all.

There simply are no guarantees in this world and laying the liability for providing absolute and perfect protection for a child at the parents' doorstep is in my opinion one of the most ridiculous lines of thought I've ever seen our culture enter into...and we've had some pretty ridiculous times. And we seem to feel so righteous about it. As a society we live in an odd denial...apparently feeling more secure by thinking we know everything, about everything, and our judgements are absolute. The logical conclusion being that we can eliminate all tragedy, unfairness, and happenstance on demand. Science and Technology and Law are imperfect. We cannot bubblewrap human beings. We cannot control all things. We cannot wrap up any individual situation with a black and white declaration of what is true. I understand now that we do not know. And I know for certainty that we do not have the whole story with the Travolta's....they themselves most likely do not have the whole story, and probably will never truly.


This world is complex beyond our understanding. And we live astonishingly complex lives. Now that is a fascinating reality. :)


Just my 2cents worth.

[peglem]

from MH:
There simply are no guarantees in this world and laying the liability for providing absolute and perfect protection for a child at the parents' doorstep is in my opinion one of the most ridiculous lines of thought I've ever seen our culture enter into...and we've had some pretty ridiculous times. And we seem to feel so righteous about it. As a society we live in an odd denial...apparently feeling more secure by thinking we know everything, about everything, and our judgements are absolute. The logical conclusion being that we can eliminate all tragedy, unfairness, and happenstance on demand. Science and Technology and Law are imperfect. We cannot bubblewrap human beings. We cannot control all things. We cannot wrap up any individual situation with a black and white declaration of what is true. I understand now that we do not know.

Well said!

[RathyKay]

Sounds like they took him off the depakote and expected dietary changes to control the seizures.

[word deleted by Moderator #3]
Whoa!:eek: Bit harsh there, and too close to my world. Those seizure meds *all* have side effects ranging all over from constipation, diarrhea, brain fog, liver disease, tremors, dry mouth, vision issues, fatal rash, migraines, ataxia, vitamin / mineral depletions, and even more seizures. And many more side effects. Don't believe me? Go to www.rxlist.com and look up a few: lamictal, keppra, depakote, tegretol, phenobarbitol, trileptal, felbatol, klonopin. Side effects usually start on page 3.

It's a guessing game, too. What works for one person doesn't work for the next person. Trial and error. Many kids with decent seizure control find themselves out of control when puberty hits and all of those hormones are swirling around. Or even just hitting a growth spurt.

We're doing dietary intervention for seizure control. It isn't perfect, but neither are the meds. Our control is as good as it was. The side effects are sooo much better. Better fine motor control, better vision, more energy, better cognition, better development. And better recovery after a seizure.

I feel sorry for the Travoltas, trying to do the best they can under the ever watchful eye of the media.

[LIZARD]

Side effects and possible reactions from AEDs can be a nightmare--I have personal experience with that!--but severe, nearly daily szs NEED medication. While I don't think it's fair to say his parents [word deleted by Moderator #3] Jett, I wouldn't rule out nelgect and possible manslaughter. Whatever the case, I hope this kicks Scientology into reality...but I doubt it will. :rolleyes: :(


LIZARD :(

[callyflower]

This is crazy. How DARE anyone throw around such accusations! I think you first need to take a look at Scientolgy vs Christian Scientist. Scientology permits the use of drugs, treatments. Christian Scientists don't. There are a world of differences.

I had a friend who was a Christian Scientist. She died in July 2007, likely from complications of either ovarian or pancreatic cancer. I have no idea, since she never saw a doctor for her symptoms--just wasted away and then swelled from ascites and died with not so much as a Tylenol to ease her pain. It was horrid. I begged her to let me help her, to no avail. My daughter's best friend is now without a mom.

Jett's family did use treatments, for over a decade. Finally the meds were causing liver damage, and were no longer working--he was refractory. After discussing his issues with his NEUROLOGIST, they made the decision to stop the seizure meds.

Where are you reading he was not treated, was not cared for, neglected or murdered????? Have you never made a medical decision of any magnitude, knowing that there could be repercussions? Now, how would you like to be judged based on media hype from strangers who were not there, did not know him, etc??? I find the whole discussion, scrutiny, blaming that is going on disgusting.

From my perspective, Jett was an extremely fortunate boy, who had loving parents who provided for him to the best of their abilities, and wholly out of love. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when that seizure struck. Do you follow your children to the toilet every time they go? What more could they have done? How are you so sure they weren't exploring other options? No one knows, and I hope that the Travolta's keep silent forever. They do not deserve the treatment they are receiving and frankly, it is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS!

I hope none of us are ever in the position to be so harshly judged when we are in the midst of the worst event of our lives. We all are human, we do our best. Sometimes our best just isn't good enough.

Cally

[LIZARD]

Jett's family did use treatments, for over a decade. Finally the meds were causing liver damage, and were no longer working--he was refractory. After discussing his issues with his NEUROLOGIST, they made the decision to stop the seizure meds.

The thing that bothers me is that there was never any mention of any other meds that were tried. Trying a single med and then deciding against ALL meds because ONE resulted in problems is simply inappropriate in the case of such severe epilepsy. It was said that he had szs at least a couple times a week. That's severe enough to require med, and they can certainly "cluster" if left untreated. Also, if he had been suddenly withdrawn from Depakote (or any other AED), the likelihood of status sz is very high. Status szs are frequently fatal. I can't dismiss the possibility that this is what happened to him. :(

LIZARD :(

[Moderator #3]

It is very sad to hear about the Travolta's loss and our thoughts are with them at this time.


But this thread has become religious in nature which is against the TOS.

It is now closed.