Liam Mikael Kowal

Liam was born on May 25, 2015 at 8:16AM in Santa Monica, California. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was measured at 21 inches at St. John's Hospital.

His mom and dad, Marcus Kowal and Mishel Eder, were teaching him Swedish, Russian, and English.  His favorite books were Swedish and his favorite show was Russian.  He loved to be read to, and he loved reading to himself, mimicking the cadence of mom and dad.

Liam was social, playful, and strong-willed - always interacting with lots of people, smiling at them, waving, blowing kisses, and giving high fives. Always determined, Liam would roll, crawl, shuffle, or yell - whatever it took to reach his goal. He was a hard worker from the get go.

Even though he was so strong willed, he was also a great listener.  If you asked him to share, or clean up, he would.

Liam loved to wrestle with his dad, chase his dogs (Scraps & Frankie) play peek-a-boo with his mom, get tickled, play with his car, and fly! 

He loved the water - he would kick his legs, smile from ear to ear, and squeal with joy and excitement whenever he was in the water. It didn't matter if it was bath time, a pool, the ocean, or a fountain - he always wanted to be in the water.

On September 3, 2016 - at only 15 months old - Liam was struck by a drunk driver in a crosswalk while on a walk with his aunt.  Liam was found in his stroller, not breathing and without a pulse.  The first responders were able to resuscitate him, but after a CT (computerized tomography) scan, it was found that the hit caused his brain to swel,l and the brain stem to sink down the spine. Two neurological tests were completed to see if there was any response from his nervous system.  There was not.

On September 4, 2016 at approximately 2PM, in a room full of close family and friends, Liam was pronounced brain dead.

Liam's organs were donated, and his parents decided to start a foundation in his name.  Since then, they have been fighting for change - because drunk driving is a completely preventable problem, yet it still continues to happen.