John Travolta's son fight

Jan 5, 2009, 9:20 GMT

(FILE) A file picture dated 27 February 2007 showing US actors John Travolta (L) and wife Kelly Preston (2-R) arrive with their daughter Ella and her friend Cate (far R) According to media reports on 02 January 2009, the couple\'s 16-year-old son Jett died at the family\'s vacation home in the Bahamas when suffering a seizure while he was in the bathtub and fell, fatally hitting his head. EPA/PAUL BUCK

John Travolta has opened up about his fight to save his teenage son's life.

Jett, 16, had a "slight pulse" when his nanny Jeff found him collapsed in the bathroom of the family's Bahamas hotel on Friday (02.01.09), and John and Jeff battled to save him before medics arrived.

John said: "I tried the kiss of life for about 20 minutes. I wouldn't give up. Jeff gave Jett CPR. I did everything I could to keep Jett alive. The paramedics took over from me when they arrived."

Jett was rushed to Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport, Grand Bahama but was later pronounced dead. It is believed he had a seizure which caused him to keel over and hit his head on the bath.

John's lawyer Michael McDermott - who has rushed to the holiday island to support the actor, his wife Kelly Preston and their eight-year-old daughter Ella - said: "I like to believe John had a chance to say goodbye. Jett may have died in his dad's arms."

Jett had Kawasaki disease, a rare condition which causes the inflammation of the vital organs, and also suffered from frequent seizures.

Michael added: "Each seizure was like a death with Jett losing consciousness and convulsing once every four days."

The teenager had been taking strong anti-convulsion medication Depakote, which helped reduce the fits to once every three weeks.

However, his family claim the drugs stopped working and also began causing him health problems including "harming his liver".

When Jett started suffering more frequent convulsions, his family decided to take him off the medication.

Michael has hit out at claims Jett was left unsupervised for hours while on the holiday, insisting his safety was John and Kelly's main priority.

The lawyer said: "There have been reports that Jett was alone for hours. They are wrong and distressing for the family. There were two nannies with him for the entire evening. He was spectacularly supervised.

"John and Kelly had everything possible set up for an emergency in Jett's life. Jeff slept 8ft from Jett. There was a baby monitor right next to him in his bed, and a chimer attached to the bathroom door announced when Jett was going in. All this was because he was prone to seizures."

The couple released a statement yesterday (04.01.09) saying they were "heartbroken" at the death of their son, and thanking fans for their support.

It read: "Jett was the most wonderful son that two parents could ever ask for and lit up the lives of everyone he encountered. We will cherish the time we had with him for the rest of our lives."

A post-mortem on Jett will be carried out today (05.01.09).