Dennis Quaid’s Ailing Babies

By: Shannon Gossage

Quaid and his wife, Kimberly, released a statement Tuesday via his rep Cara Tripiccho that read, "Dennis and Kimberly appreciate everyone’s thoughts and prayers and hope they can maintain their privacy at this difficult time." The twelve-day-old twins, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after being inadvertently administered an overdose of heparin, a common anticoagulation drug. The drug is also used to flush out IV drips. Cedars-Sinai did confirm that three patients, including the Quaid twins, who were being treated intravenously, had their catheters inadvertently flushed with 10,000 units of heparin, instead of the 10-unit dose that was prescribed. The twins reportedly started to "bleed out" lat Sunday night and were given protamine sulfate to treat the overdose.

Dr. Michael Langberg, Cedars-Sinai chief medical officer, said in a statement, "I want to extend my deepest apologies to the families who were affected by this situation, and we will continue to work with them on any concerns or questions they may have." He added, "This was a preventable error, involving a failure to follow our standard policies and procedures, and there is no excuse for that to occur at Cedars-Sinai." He also said that they are "conducting a comprehensive investigation, cooperating fully with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services and will take all necessary steps to ensure that this never happens here again."

The twins were born in Santa Monica on November 8 via a surrogate mother. Quaid, 53, and Kimberly Buffington, 35, are the children’s biological parents. The couple married three and a half years ago. These are Buffington’s first children. Quaid has a 15-year old son, Jack Henry, with ex-wife Meg Ryan. The twins are reportedly expected to make a full recovery.