Scientology banned my epilepsy meds: ex-Church member

With headlines around the world suggesting John Travolta’s son Jett could have been saved with anti-seizure drugs - a former Scientologist, and epileptic, has told LIVENEWS.com.au how she was ordered off her medication.

Tory Christman, who reached the upper echelons of the church, claims she was told to stop taking the drugs by an unqualified medical official, which led to her seizures returning and to her knocking her teeth out in the bath.

“It was a nightmare,” said Christman. I had grand mal seizures, I fell in the bathtub just like Jett did, and knocked out my front teeth. It was really bad. I was losing my memory.”

“My mother saved my life and realised it was really kooky and said either you get back on your medicine today or I’m going come out there and Scientology will never forget me. Christman was a member of the Church for 30 years before fleeing in the year 2000."

John Travolta’s son, Jett, died last Friday reportedly after hitting his head during a seizure. Travolta is one of the highest profile devotees of the Church of Scientology, which teaches that mental illness is psychosomatic and can be treated with spiritual healing. Scientologists are also taught not to use drugs to treat mental illness and campaign openly against drugs like Ritalin which they label “kiddy cocaine”.

In the last few days allegations have surfaced in British tabloids that Jett Travolta’s seizures were not due to brain damage caused by childhood Kawasaki syndrome - as the family claim - but that the 16-year-old was autistic.

Scientology does not recognise autism, which is often connected with epilepsy, as a mental illness. The Travoltas have in the past been picketed by activists, who claim their refusal to acknowledge their son’s true condition amounted to child abuse.

source : www.livenews.com.au

Ever since news of Jett Travolta's death was made known in the media, my inbox has been flooded with epilepsy updates concerning this tragic death. To this extent, it makes me wonder how news of the deaths of non celebrity parents' children are highlighted and disappear all too quickly to be forgotten and never to be mentioned again. Is there any difference between Jett and authistic/epileptic children of non celebrity parents?

There is no difference at all. Every live lost to authism/epilepsy requires the same attention and actions to be taken to prevent further similar deaths. Instead of just focusing on the death of a celebrity's child, all of us should focus beyond this and stretch our hands out to offer comfort and help to anyone we know who has also lost a child to authism/epilepsy. It is the ordinary caregivers that require most attention in their time of loss and grief. They are not celebrities but their children's lives are just as precious as that of children born to celebrities.