Today we’d like to introduce you to Demetrius Harrell.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It started during the winter of 2016, fresh from graduating with my Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineer and being hired on full time by a company I worked for as an intern. My wife and I just bought house and found out we were going to have twin girls you can imagine our excitement. Twins run heavily in on my side of the family. My dad has twins (my youngest brother and sister, 3 of my aunts have twins. My wife was starting a new job after getting her master’s in nursing informatics.
Everything was going great until one day we received news from the doctor that there were troubling signs appearing similar to twin-to-twin transfusion which was best-case scenario given the circumstances.
We increased my wife’s doctor’s visits watch the progress until it got to the point our doctor couldn’t help us so we had to fly to Baltimore to see a specialist there.
This was our first visit to Baltimore; we stay at the “Admiral Fell Inn” near the harbor. It was a cold day the morning we went to see the specialist sitting in the hospital room waiting to be seen made us anxious as we worried for the safety of our daughters.
The doctor had the test ran and told of that 1 twin was potentially dying and if we were lucky it would turn into twin-to-twin transfusion which was more manageable.
We were not far enough into the pregnancy for them to do a C-section. We were faced with the choice of clamping the cord and killing 1 twin or waiting to see if the condition would turn into something treatable which the doctor was seeing signs of.
We made the choice to wait and see as we were close to the point where they could do a c-section and flew back to Georgia 2 days later we were back in Baltimore for an emergency blood transfusion 1 twin passed and it was a rush against time to save the other twin.
They saved the surviving twin but the blood loss resulted in what was effectively a stroke leaving the surviving twin with only her brain stem.
You would think at situation was the worst of it but little did we know the first 5 months of 2017 had beef with us.
We started 2017 with the loss of 1 daughter and 4 family members weeks apart from each other so needless to say 2017 was a tough year for our family.
My wife and I were both dealing with depression as a result while trying to manage both of our new roles.
I was blessed to have an understanding manager who has become like family to me for months I was late getting to work at least 2 times a week and as long as it did not affect the company or my performance, he was okay with it because he knew what we were going through.
I hated putting my manager in the situation, I hated that I had no drive or will to do anything and I really hated having to constantly ask for time off to take care of my family.
Our daughter was born and I held both of our girls for the first time on Father’s Day 2017, that was a bitter-sweet Father’s Day gift.
We were told our surviving daughter would probably live 2 days so we made the most of it. Then 2 years later she was still here and her care was becoming more intensive by the day, my daughter has Cortical visual impairment (CVI), microcephaly, hip dysplasia, acid reflux, bowel issues, tone issues which cause weight gain issues and it seems like every week we find a new issue.
Because I always wanted to have my own business and disliked to being able to be there for my family without needing permission I started working on my business and learning as much as I could and trying different businesses.
My podcast that I cohosted “Atlanta events” was starting to pick up some traction then Covid-19 happened now here we are in 2021 I finally opened my event space and production studio Encaptivating events to build on the videography and 3D virtual tours I started doing in 2019.
My daughter is still with us and now we have a son that tries to run the house and has brought us so much joy and completely change the mood in our household.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Of course, it has not been a smooth road marketing, and making people aware that we are here has been the biggest issue.
Developing our processes to make the process for our customers as easy as possible.
But it has not been all bad of course the clients that we have had recommend us to other clients and we have rented out our space to a major production company that has produced some well know TV shows.
As you know, we’re big fans of Encaptivating events. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Encaptivating events is a spacious event space and production studio. Our high ceilings, decorative amenities, ample parking, blank walls, and quiet HVAC system provides freedom and flexibility to create anything you can imagine bringing excitement and fun to every event.
We specialize in parties, baby showers, Fraternity and Sorority events, tailgate events, decorations, and small business events.
What sets us apart is our staff who have managed events at the Mercedes Benz stadium, worked on productions for businesses all over Georgia.
Also, our location and the amenities we offer for our price point, where other venues upcharge for some of our standard event items you get them already in our package.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is my family, my peace of mind, my spiritual relationship with God, mental health, and helping business owners start or grow their businesses.
My family is the reason I push myself so hard, when my family is not okay it affects my peace of mind which leads to me having poor health.
Connecting with God keeps me centered and focused on why I do what I do and the vision that has been placed within me to create and be there for people since I was a child.
I recently discovered how much I love to talk about business strategies and growth with small businesses and helping them navigate from point A to point B and it all ties into the vision I have within me for my BHAG (Big hairy audacious goal).
Pricing:
- Reader get %50 off of their event with code: Voyage50
Contact Info:
- Email: Info@encaptivatingevents.com
- Website: www.encaptivatingevents.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/encaptivatingevents
- Facebook: Fb.me/Encaptivatingevents
- Other: Instagram.com/iamdemetriusmh
Image Credits
Unshackled Pursuit
