LONDON, ONT. -- It’s been an up and down journey for Wail Shahwan, who struggled with addiction since he was a teenager.
“I was addicted to multiple kind of drugs from crack cocaine to percocets and that took about 10 years. Yeah it was a struggle.”
Shahwan was also in and out of jail and had several suicide attempts.“I was standing on the balcony and I was going through withdrawals and I’m standing on the balcony and I’m looking down, and honestly I was contemplating jumping at that point.”
But, he says it was at that moment his mom showed up at his apartment to visit him. It’s a moment that changed his life.
“She ended up sitting in the hallway for three hours and I was on the other side of the door with my back against the door and I was just crying and bawling my eyes out.”
Ten years clean now, Shahwan wanted to do something to say thank you not just to his mom, but all moms.
“She saved my life, and I think up until today, every day I wake up and she’s my motivation.”
Shahwan has decided to fund the production of a 1,000 masks that will say on them #weloveyoumoms which he will be selling and all the proceeds will go to charity.
The giving doesn’t end there. Shahwan is creating an online community under the name We Love You Moms, where he’s encouraging health and wellness professionals to come together to create a one-stop wellness page online for mothers.
“This is the time we can give a little bit back. I really don’t want to remember 2020 for COVID-19. I want to remember it as a year when we stood up together and we created something that comes back to our lives and makes us better people.”
If you would like to contact Wail Shahwan about the masks or the online community, you can email him at Wailshahwan9@gmail.com
