A day after the death of his son, Jett, John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston remain in shock, a friend of the family tells PEOPLE.
“He never dreamed of this – their relationship was so close,” says family attorney Mike Ossi, who is in the Bahamas with the actor. “He always said ‘I’m happy as long as my kids are happy.’ He is heartbroken … To bury your son is the worst thing you can ever do.”
According to Ossi, 16-year-old Jett was discovered by a nanny on Friday morning around 10 a.m. After the nanny called 911, John Travolta tried in vain to resuscitate his son.
“He didn’t want anything to happen to that boy, and he kept on trying to revive him,” said Ossi. “He did mouth-to-mouth until they had to physically remove John to take Jett to the hospital.”
The teen, who is the only son of Travolta, 54, and Preston, 46, has a history of having seizures. Police spokeswoman Loretta Mackey told the Associated Press that Jett hit his head in a bathtub Friday morning and was declared dead at Rand Memorial Hospital.
According to Ossi, around 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 1, John said goodnight to his son, who was tired from a long day spent on the water with his family. Jett went to his room with his nanny. “He always had a nanny by his side because he had a history of seizures,” says Ossi. “John took extra precautions. [Jett] was never alone.”
Mike McDermott, John’s corporate counsel, adds, “John did everything in his power to revive [his son.] John and Jett had a very strong relationship. Words cannot explain how close they were. This will take a lot of time. His life will never be the same again.”
Public date: January 4th, 2009
January 4, 2009
The title should read John Travolta and Kelly Preston lost their only son. It is so sad to lose a child. I am sure they both took precautions with Jett, knowing the siezures he was prone to have. A mother and father losing a child is devastating no matter what the age of the child. My prayers go to this family I have never met or judged.
January 4, 2009
if the travlotas son had recurrent seizures, then maybe they should stop talking about this strange kawsaki disease and put some funding into what causes seizures and any other symptoms he actually had. I have seizures, and this kawsaki illness is hollywood bull. People like them are holding back reserach for fear of being stigmatised.
the ERF are a good charity for research