Ella hasn’t made too many public appearances since the death of her brother, but the family seems to be banding together and turning to each other for support.

Check out this grieving family’s body language after the jump

The body language in this picture of the three of them suggests to me that Ella is loved. Not only that, but that they are afraid to let her go in case she disappears.

My mum said, ” Man she looks like her dad, and her mum.” I tend to agree. You see John in the first glance, but on a closer look she has a good mix of both of her parents.

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According to an insider close to John, the grieving father remains “firmly committed” to Scientology, despite reports that Church big wigs aren’t happy with his public acknowledgment of Jett’s disease.

John apparently doesn’t hold a grudge against the Church, which doesn’t acknowledge chronic mental illnesses or prescription medications used to treat them — even though it’s now generally accepted that John’s son Jett suffered from untreated autism.

Jett died of complications resulting from an apparent seizure brought on by his untreated illness back in January.

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The 54-year-old actor is testifying in court against paramedic Tarino Lightbourne and former Bahamas senator Pleasant Bridgewater, who are accused of attempting to extort $US25 million from the Travolta family.

Travolta also testified that he tried to save Jett. “I ran downstairs with my wife to help my son.” John administered CPR to his boy but it was not effective and the teen was declared dead at Rand Memorial Hospital.

It’s tragic enough that John and wife Kelly Preston lost their son and Ella Bleu lost her big brother, but for the family to have to relive the pain of that fateful day is so sad.  It’s almost like starting the grieving process all over again.

Both defendants have said they are innocent of all charges.

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He’s had to do a couple of things that would be emotionally exhausting. He had to relive the day of his son’s death and he also had to make a statement that he never wanted to.

He had to admit that Jett was autistic.

My heart goes out to the family. It has to be so hard to have to go and admit something that you wanted to deny for years. I’m not here to cast judgement. They are the parents that have to live with the question of whether the treatments for autism could have saved his life.  That’s something that is hard enough to come to terms with, they don’t need the extra noise from every body else.

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At some point during the chaos, John was asked to sign a “refusal of medical attention” form, limiting the liability of paramedics. Which he did.

However, Travolta eventually listened to reason and allowed Jett to be transported to the Rand Memorial Hospital, where he died.

So apparently, that’s the mystery document that the greedy paramedic threatened to reveal if he didn’t get his $US25 million. And, in all honesty, it really doesn’t reflect too well on John Travolta’s judgement.

Still, that doesn’t justify any attempt to extort money from a bereaved father! What a total a-hole!

There definitely might be a cautionary tale in here somewhere about parents with very strong and controversial ideas about conventional medicine.

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The Travoltas – John, Kelly Preston, and their daughter Ella Bleu, 9, stepped out on September 11, to promote their new Disney film Old Dogs.  It was the family’s first public appearance since Jett’s passing nine months ago in the Bahamas.

From Usmagazine.com:

“The family’s surprise appearance took place Friday at Disney’s D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif. John held Ella’s hand as he helped Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook introduce the movie to fans. (All three appear in the comedy, which also stars Robin Williams).”

“I always appreciate the audience’s love for me,” he told the crowd. “I hope they love Old Dogs as much as we do because I’ve got my baby in it.”

Kelly was scheduled to speak about Jett at the California Governor’s Conference for Women last month, but decided it’s “too soon” to speak of her loss and cancelled her appearance. 

We hope you are finding some happiness and remembering Jett with fond memories.

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Kelly Preston has cancelled a long awaited speech about the death of her 16-year-old son Jett, saying it’s “too soon” to speak of her loss.

The actress was scheduled to speak for the California Governor’s Conference for Women’s “Grief & Resilience” panel, but said she’s not prepared to do so.

In a statement, Preston revealed;

It is with my sincere apologies that I must pull out from speaking at (the) conference. I am sorry, but I truly believed that I could do it.  Otherwise I never would have said that I could. But I am still deeply in the process of healing, and it’s just too soon.”

Jett Travolta died in January after an apparent seizure. Both Kelly and husband, John Travolta, have kept a low profile since the tragic passing.

Maria Shriver, who is host of the conference, said she completely understood; 

“I know how hard it was for Kelly to make this decision and she has my complete support and understanding.  Everyone has their own path to healing and their own timetable for grieving.”

Our hearts go out to Kelly and John. 

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There has been talk about John Travolta quitting scientology over his son’s death, but really his friends are just concerned for his health.

Travolta has become more and more of a recluse and has been unable to sleep for months. According to neighbours, Travolta’s sleepless nights are a common occurrence. “We often see John driving himself around at night. It’s sad to see. You rarely catch sight of him during the day. We used to see him driving around on a buggy with his son. Now it’s just John by himself.”

Will he really leve his scientology roots over the disbelief in physical conditions such as Autism? Would Jett have been helped by conventional doctors and treatments rather than detoxifications and vitamins?  I’m sure those are questions that John asks himself everyday and it must pain him to know that either way he’s stuck. If he leaves the religion they’ll blab all his embarrassing information, and if he stays he’s stuck with questions, questions, questions.

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Earlier this month, John gracefully bowed out of the promo tour for his action thriller Pelham 123, in order to be with his family as they reconcile their loss. Now, we know where the Travoltas went to ease the grieving process. They went on a South Africa safari, one of Jett’s favorite activities.

According to TMZ, the Travolta family, along with close friends, rented out the entire Eagles Crag Lodge in South Africa’s Shamwari Game Preserve as a sort of tribute to John and Kelly’s late son. Apparently, the Shamwari Preserve was one of Jett’s favorite places to visit.

Hopefully, the Travoltas found some kind of peace from the memorial safari trek.

There are some positive signs that they are emerging from the tragedy. Mother Kelly Preston is slated to costar alongside Miley Cyrus in The Last Song, which has already started  filming. John Travolta has even acknowledged that Jett may have been autistic.

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Opting to skip his latest film’s promotional appearances, grieving father John Travolta posted a message to fans on his website, encouraging them to check out The Taking of Pelham 123.

“The Taking of Pelham 123 from Sony Picture is scheduled to be released on June 12, 2009. It was a labor of love to work on this film with the producers Todd Black, Steve Tisch and Jason Blumenthal, the director Tony Scott, and fellow cast members Denzel Wasington, Luis Guzman, John Turturro and James Gandolfini.”

Travolta also thanked his fellow cast members for picking up the slack and allowing him to be at home:

“Tony, Denzel, Luis, John, James and Sony Pictures stepped up without hesitation to help promote this wonderful film, and their unselfish efforts have allowed my family the additional time to reconcile our loss.”

John and his family are obviously still reeling from the sudden death of Jett this January in the Bahamas. The official cause of death was a seizure.

The film — a remake of an old subway hostage movie from the 70s — actually looks pretty exciting, and it’s loaded with a star-studded cast. It’s a shame for John that the timing turned out to be so tragic for him and his family.

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