MMA fighter Marcus Kowal opens up about new baby 1 year after son was killed

Marcus Kowal opens up about losing a son and welcoming another. Here, the MMA fighter stands with Actress Elisabetta Conalis at the Italian Film, Fashion and Art Fest opening night in Los Angeles. (Getty)

After losing their first child more than a year ago, MMA fighter Marcus Kowal and his wife, Mishel, are opening up about the tragic death of their son Liam while welcoming their 4-month-old baby, Nico.

On a new episode of “The Doctors,” the family sat down with show’s hosts and talked about working through loss of their 15-month old son Liam and the new addition to their family.

“He’s been a blessing and he has really helped us on this healing journey,” Mishel said on the episode.

Last September, Liam’s 15-year-old aunt took her nephew out for a walk in his stroller when they were suddenly struck by a car while crossing the street. When police arrived on the scene, they found the two accident victims in the crosswalk of the street. Liam’s aunt suffered minor injuries, but Liam was found “pulseless and not breathing.” The 15-month-old was rushed to UCLA medical center in Los Angeles where doctors declared him brain dead. The family then made the difficult decision to take their son off life support.

The driver who caused the accident had been drinking, according filed after the accident.

Kowal and his wife admitted that life without their first born has been difficult, but the family found comfort in the fact that Liam helped to save other people's lives through organ donation. Now the family is active in raising awareness of the dangers of drunk driving and started the charity, “Liam’s Life Foundation,” in honor of their son.

“The reason why we chose Liam was it means ‘the people’s protector,’” the MMA fighter explained. “When we named him — and this was not the way we had hoped for him to be a protector  — but he’s already saved lives directly by donating his organs but also just from the people that reached out to us around the world pledging to never drink and drive again.”

After a year of hardships, the family is still working through the loss of Liam, but is getting a fresh start with baby Nico. Despite the fact that Nico is only 4 months old, he has already been told stories of his big brother.

“It’s important for him to know that he’s his own person and he never feels that he lives in the shadow of his brother, but he’s proud of his older brother and knows of his older brother," Mishel explained.