Public Speech 'Too Soon' for Kelly Preston

By PopEater / Wire Services Posted Aug 30th 2009 10:04AM

Kelly Preston is pulling out of the annual Women's Conference, where she was to break her silence about the death of her teenage son with John Travolta. The actress said in a statement Friday that she is "still deeply in the process of healing, and it's just too soon."

Preston was set to participate in a panel on grief at the annual event hosted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver.

Preston and Travolta, have kept low profiles since their 16-year-old son, Jett, died in January during a family vacation in the Bahamas. The teenager died of a seizure after years of poor health.

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The Jett Travolta Tragedy

Kelly Preston, seen here with her late son Jett and daughter Ella, was set to speak in October about dealing with the loss of her 16-year-old boy, but pulled out of the engagement.

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Tags: kelly preston, KellyPreston

Comments

(133)

Monday 31 August

By Jessica

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Get your facts straight...just because movies have been RELEASED doesn't mean they were made after their sons death. They haven't actually MADE any movies since then.

By webkfriend

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My heart goes out to anyone who has lost a child. The pain never goes away you just learn to survive. Visit http://webkinzfriends.com

By The Taylor Fund

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THIS is what it feels like to lose a teenage son. Bring tissues with you, because if you are a parent, this will be painful to read. Turn on your speakers. The site is loaded with links to hundreds of videos, self help groups, music, too much to list. Plus it will teach you a lesson many of the "outside" world needs to learn.
Please be patient with someone who has lost a child for their world is now enveloped in sadness that will never really go away. http://www.taylorburgstahler.memory-of.com

By kack

you are a totally sick bastard!!

By candace

i feel for them but it must be nice to be able to morn like they have been able to. in the real world people HAVE to get back to every day things like....... work.

i don't think they ever admitted it was autism. i'm not sure their church believes in it? or maybe they just don't believe in medication for it. either way i know it was because of their religion. i am totally amazed that people seriously, seriously follow some guy who wrote a book and makes up his own rules. i'm sorry but the church of scientology is nothing but a cult and they totally extort money from their followers. so in a way it was probably better that they didn't let the world know (not that it's any of anyone elses business, if it were them then maybe, but their son was not the movie star and there needs to be some kind of line drawn where non-famous family members are not pulled into the spotlight!) anyhow it's better because their wacko churches views on autism would have set it back 20 years!! some losers would actually follow what they said and thought because they were movie stars. how pathetic people are today, that some irresponsible parents would listen to them instead of doctors!! all because of some stupid cult religion. either way the autism didn't kill him, the seizure did when he bumped his head.

By angela

My son's twin brother died 20 years ago, shortly after birth. Till this day, I still think about it like it was yesterday. It's like it just comes over you out of nowhere. Time has healed a lot of the pain but when it comes , I can't talk about it or anything and there are some days I have no problem disgusting it .

By anthony

i dont understand what happened they say he had a monitor if he went to bathroom didnt the monitor go off and the aid should have gotten up to addend to him i just dont get it

By lindee

Can you miss a kid you didn't raise? I'm sure the people hired to care for him are having a hard time too.

By Justme

brainslug you are an ASS! People like you shouldnt be allowed to post ignorant comments on any site. That goes for the rest of you heartless bastards. I hardly think any of you are perfect.

By Debbe

Who wrote this topic? "ACTRESS IS STILL MOURNING SON'S DEATH????"
Obviously someone who ISN'T a mom.
You never stop mourning your child being gone.
EVER.
it isn't something you move on with. You carry on perhaps, but you cannot move on.
You wake up every day missing your baby, EVERY SINGLE DAY!

By Shellie

I dont know where Scientologist go but I am sure it wont be as hot as where you will probably end up. Shame on you for being so insensitive. I guess you thought you stupid comment was clever, but it just showed how stupid you really are.

By Bee

If you have no compassion or are afraid to show it, do not judge someone's grief. It is personal and only that individual knows the loss he/she is feeling. It takes a very long time to grieve and with faith and love they can accept it.

yes tc i do think you are an idiot. as for my grammar, you are kidding right?? it did not occur to me that someone like you would even know the difference. here's a newsflash tc, the article was about her not speaking at a fundraiser not what medical care they did or did not give their son. not that it's any of YOUR business but i am totally against their crackpot religious beliefs and i am totally for medicating children when they need it. i am a mother of four and my 5 year old has adhd who unfortunately needs to be medicated. i do not care what people think, i would never ask my church their opinion on this, i do what's best for my child and what will make her life easier. i do think that their child should have been on some type of seizure meds but that decision was not up to you, me or anyone but them. if anyone should be charged it's that looney cult they belong to, they brainwash their "members". so the next time you decide to make a stupid comment, please make sure you know what you are talking about before you open your mouth. i hope my grammar did not offend you this time!! (that's sarcasm in case you couldn't tell!!)

By Claudia

My sympathy to John and Kelly and thier daughter Ella on the loss of a son and brother. Jett was simply ill, any siezure disorder is treated with antisiezure medicines. There is really no alternative. Very few siezeure disorders show a clear cause, the person suffering can go through every diagnostic test available and look medically perfect but still have siezures. My son is Autistic and Epeliptic he took depakote for 17 years before we had to switch medicines, we are trying Keppra now and hoping he can tolerate this medicine. Two weeks ago he had a siezure in the bathroom and we were lucky he did not fall hard enough to hurt himself, he is six foot two and two hundred and ten pounds of muscle. The siezures alone could kill him, the size and weight makes the falls dangerous too. You watch like a hawk, you jump at every bump or sound and you never loose that hyper alert feeling when you have a child like this. John and Kelly did all they could for Jett please, just give them the space to grieve and move on for Ella's sake. This is hard enough without evil minded people who have never walked a mile in the shoes of a parent with a ill child. My shoes waliking there are well worn. The Travolta family has my sympathy, I just hope they can draw strength from each other and remember they have so much to live happily for. John, Kelly and Ella are still here to live and experience joy in life.

By tara

Kelly made a movie in June with Miley Cyrus. She starts another in November. Must be nice to have such an outlet for her "grief".

By Wendy

I say to Kelly as well as John, take all the time you need to grieve this horrible loss. I cannot imagine losing a child. My thoughts and prayers remain with you. Stay strong.

PS. To the idiots making disgusting comments, you may think yourselves clever, but you are only showing your ignorance. In addition, remember karma is a real beotch!

By Abraxus

Since some of you know NOTHING about the movie business - the movies John has appeared in SINCE the death were actually filmed a long time before Jet died - movie making isn't an instant process, it takes months or sometimes even years. As to John, I have heard that he is struggling with his scientology beliefs now too because of the depth of the grief the family is going through. I send only good wishes to the family and hope they can find a little more peace each day that goes by. As to Jett's death - it sounds like he wasn't expected to have a normal life expectancy and the fact that a 16 year boy was alone in his own bathroom isn't really that shocking - except to someone who has never had a 16 year boy - they are independent and you don't watch them every single second of the day, especially when the are in the bathroom.

By Frank

in 1969 we lost a brother, he was 36 years old.
my mom cried every day til the day she died for her loss. It NEVER goes away, the grief, you just learn to live with the pain as best you can. so I understand what this family is going through. My best to them

By lily

I vacationed on an island in Maine when my children were small. The Travoltas owned the home next door and were there with their son for most of the summer. Jett was only 4 at the time and was a beautiful child. It was clear that there was something just slightly off in his behavior, but what was also clear was that his parents were completely and utterly devoted to him. John and Kelly are two of the most unpretentious people i have had the pleasure of meeting and were gracious and welcoming to my family. I cannot imagine the pain of losing my precious son and my heart bleeds for this lovely couple during their healing process.

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