Three Frustaci Septuplets Have Multiple Ailments
The first birthday for three surviving septuplets born to Patti and Sam Frustaci was marked Wednesday by disclosures that the two boys have cerebral palsy and all three suffer from eye, hearing and breathing disorders.
Janice Corsino, an attorney at the Los Angeles firm that represents the Riverside family, said the two boys have had hernia surgery and all the infants have been attached to monitors that sound a warning when breathing stops.
Patti Frustaci on Wednesday placed flowers and balloons on the graves of the other four septuplets.
Browne Greene, another family lawyer, described Wednesday as a “happy and sad day--happy because the three kids are still living, but sad because the family relived the events that led to the deaths.”
The Frustacis have filed a $3.2-million lawsuit against Dr. Jaroslav Marik, who injected Patti Frustaci with the fertility drug Pergonal. They claim that Marik could have prevented a “medical catastrophe” by administering hormonal tests and special ultrasonic examinations.
The septuplets, born at Childrens Hospital of Orange County, were the first such births in the United States.
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