Dennis Quaid's Newborns Fighting Drug Overdose

Wed, 21 November 2007 22:51:09 ET

Dennis Quaid's Newborns Fighting Drug Overdose
Dennis Quaid's newborn twins are fighting for their lives after being given an accidental drug overdose. Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace - who were born to a surrogate mother on November 8 - are currently in intensive care at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where Dennis and his wife Kimberley Buffington are keeping a bedside vigil.

The tiny tots were mistakenly given 10,000 units of the anti-coagulant Heparin - which stops the blood from clotting - but babies are only allowed to have 10. The error happened because a technician made a storage mistake and a nurse failed to check a label.

Dr. Michael L. Langberg, Cedars-Sinai's chief medical officer, said: "I want to extend my deepest apologies to the families who were affected by this situation. 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."

'The Day After Tomorrow' star's publicist Cara Tripicchio added: "Dennis and Kimberly appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers and hope they can maintain their privacy during this difficult time."

Dennis - who has a 15-year-old son, Jack Henry, with ex-wife Meg Ryan - and Kimberley were thrilled when Thomas and Grace arrived into the world almost two weeks ago. The excited parents released a statement, saying: "God has definitely blessed us."

Dennis, 53, and Kimberly, 35, have refused to reveal the identity of the surrogate mother. The couple, who married on July 4 2004, have confirmed they are the twins' biological parents.