The emotional tribute showed Jett and family in happier times.
One of the worst life experiences a parent could ever have is to bury their child. The memories of your little one are likely to stay with you forever. After all, no parent can ever feel prepared for grief this big. It doesn't matter how old your child was, the loss is big regardless. Most of us assume that our kids would far outlive us and when tragedy strikes, unexpected or not, it is crushing. But, we learn to move on and take one day at a time.
Similarly, actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston, married for more than 28 years, continue to mourn their son, Jett. He would have turned 28 on April 13th and his parents still keep him close to their heart. They posted tributes to their beloved first child, who died in January 2009.
He died when the family was vacationing in the Bahamas. Jett suffered a seizure and hit his head on a bathtub at their home on Grand Bahama Island when he was 16, according to Yahoo News. Jett had autism, a cause Preston champions now.
The Face Off star has spoken about how his son's death was "the worst thing that’s ever happened in my life." Speaking to BBC, the father opened up about his heartbreak and revealed that he was going through a really hard time after losing Jett. "The truth is, I didn’t know if I was going to make it," he said. "Life was no longer interesting to me, so it took a lot to get me better." He revealed that he was so grief-stricken that he had been unable to get out of bed. However, his faith got him through the tough time.
Never far from his thoughts, Travolta shared a black and white photo of himself and Jett on April 13. The father and son are smiling while they look at each other in the photo. The Grease actor captioned it, "Happy Birthday Jetty! We love you!"
Jett's mom, Preston, 57, also shared a few photos of their son. In one of them, she can be seen hugging Jett with snow-capped mountains in the background. She captioned the photo, "Happy Birthday to our sweetest Jetty, we love you!!"
In another photo, which she shared on April 4, Preston, Travolta, Jett and their daughter Ella Bleu can be seen posing together on a boat. She shared it to create awareness about those who have autism.
She captioned it, "I have a special place in my heart for those with autism and special needs. Sending love to some of my favorite people in the world. My son Jetty was one of the most playful and wonderful souls you’ve ever met. Love to all of you with autism and special needs around the world."
Jett's younger sister, Ella, also posted a photo of her family in formal wear for a special occasion. "Happy Birthday to my brother Jett, I love you so much," she captioned it. Apart from Ella, the couple has another son, nine-year-old Benjamin.
The Mischief actress had opened up about her son's condition in 2012 as well. She revealed that he also had a rare condition that causes the artery walls in the body to get inflamed.
"[Jett] was autistic. He had seizures and when he was very young, he had Kawasaki Syndrome. I strongly believe as a mother, as does my husband, that there are certain contributing factors that lead to autism and some of it is very much the chemicals in our environment and in our food," she said, according to Daily Mail.
Now, the family makes sure to remember their son and brother, who died young, every year and pay tribute to him. They share loving photos from their family album and share with their fans. Many followers, famous and otherwise, comment on their posts to share their grief even now.
References:
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26226845
https://in.news.yahoo.com/john-travolta-kelly-preston-son-jett-28th-birthday-084734890.html
