'I did everything I could...'

2009-01-06 08:09

Los Angeles - 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 January 2, 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-convulsant medication, 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.

- Bang