Dennis Quaid's facing his toughest role yet.
Amid reports that his newborn twins are seriously ill, the actor and his wife released a statement Tuesday thanking fans for their support.
"Dennis and Kimberly appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers and hope they can maintain their privacy at this difficult time," Quaid's rep Cara Tripicchio said in a statement to E! News.
Twelve-day-old Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace were reportedly placed in the neonatal intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after hospital personnel inadvertently administered too much heparin, a common anticlotting medication that is used for, among other purposes, to flush out IV drips.
Cedars-Sinai confirmed Tuesday that, "as a result of a preventable error," three patients who were being treated intravenously had their IV catheters accidentally flushed with a 10,000-unit solution of heparin, rather than the proscribed 10-unit dose.
"The error was identified by Cedars-Sinai staff, who immediately performed blood tests on the patients to measure blood clotting function," Cedars-Sinai chief medical officer Dr. Michael Langberg said in a statement.
According to Langberg, the three affected patients showed an inhibited clotting function. While one of the trio's clotting test returned quickly to normal, the two others (presumably Thomas and Zoe Quaid) were given protamine sulfate, which is used to treat heparin overdoses.
Additional tests on the two patients have shown no further damage or abnormalities and doctors are continuing to monitor the situation.
"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," Langberg said.
"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. Although it appears at this point that there was no harm to any patient, we take this situation very seriously. We 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."
A source told TMZ, which first reported that Quaid's children were hospitalized, that the mix-up occurred because the heparin was stored improperly, leading a nurse to grab the wrong dosage.
Late Sunday night, the source said, Thomas and Zoe started to "bleed out" because their blood's ability to clot was compromised, and they were admitted to intensive care and given protamine sulfate.
Thomas and Zoe were born via a surrogate mother on Nov. 8 in Santa Monica, but Quaid, 53, and his wife of three and a half years, Kimberly Buffington, 35, are the children's biological parents. Quaid also has a 15-year-old son, Jack Henry, with ex-wife Meg Ryan.