BAYLEE LITTRELL: The Heartache Of Backstreet Boy

Sunday, January 11, 2009

BAYLEE LITTRELL: The Heartache Of Backstreet Boy
Current mood: blessed
Category: Life

THE HEARTACHE OF BACKSTREET BOY
11th January 2009
By Mike Parker in L.A.

The son of Backstreet Boys star Brian Littrell has been diagnosed with the same rare disorder suffered by tragic Jett Travolta.

Six-year-old Baylee was found to have Kawasaki Disease just 18 days before Jett died.

And grieving John Travolta is ready to help Brian and his family cope with their son’s condition.

Singer and guitarist Brian, 33, revealed Baylee was allowed home on December 20, five days after the diagnosis.
He said: “Baylee talked about having little chest pains. The hospital staff were absolutely amazing with the exhaustive tests they carried out.
“They made an extremely difficult time in all our lives as comfortable as possible. ”

He added: “I’m so thankful he is home now and that we were blessed that he was released from hospital before the holidays.
“Having him with us was the best Christmas gift of all.

“At home we have to monitor his heart ourselves but he is going to be very closely watched by a paediatric cardiologist for the next six to eight weeks.

“The doctors believe they have the disease under control but they told my wife Leighanne and I that his coronary arteries had been compromised, putting him at risk of a heart attack. ”
But when 16-year-old Jett died less than three weeks later, it hit the Littrells “like a hammer blow” at their home in Atlanta, Georgia.
A family friend said yesterday: “They were absolutely floored when they heard he had died.

“Their hearts go out to John Travolta and Kelly Preston.
“This was a terrible tragedy at a time when Brian and Leighanne have been very scared for their own son.
“They have heard that the Travolta family want to help them and any other family who are struggling with this terrible condition.”

According to statistics issued by the US Department of Health, fewer than 1% of cases of Kawasaki Disease – which normally affects children under five – prove fatal.

Leighanne, 39, said: “Although Baylee is feeling better, we have been told that the condition can recur, especially in the first month.
“So he’s taking it easy. He loves karate but that’s a no-no and he can’t do any rigorous activity.”

Brian had 13 Top 40 hits with the Backstreet Boys, the world’s most successful boy band with album sales in excess of 100million.
But he did not reveal if he would continue later on the band’s current 104-gig Unbreakable world tour.

It is due to end in March, more than a year after opening in North America, with dates in South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and South Africa.

It is the second time a personal nightmare has dogged Littrell during a tour.

He came close to dying before open-heart surgery in the middle of a sold-out tour of 39 cities in 1998.

Jett is believed to have had a seizure and hit his head on a bathtub at the luxury home owned by his parents in the Bahamas.

Source: dailystar