Summary (TL;DR)
Three years ago, A2L Consulting was #1 in all categories, but we were especially known for our trial graphics and jury consulting. We took a three-year break, and now the team is back under a new moniker, Persuadius. We are hard at work with clients as we speak. The backstory is long and eventful but compelling. Read it below, and I would love to hear from you at ken@persuadius.com, especially if you need persuasive litigation graphics or jury consulting. Persuadium is the new essential element of persuasion.
So, what happened?
March 5, 2020, 9 pm, pre-lockdown. I am alone at home.
I was prepping for a morning meeting related to some enormous litigation. My personal life was, unfortunately, overflowing with drama. For me, however, it was just another typically stressful day.
I was proud of an article I had published that morning, 5 Reasons to Be Terrified of the Coronavirus (and 5 Reasons Not to Be). In retrospect, it is quite prescient. I'm still proud of it, if you can't tell.
To celebrate the end of my day, I poured myself a glass of red wine, which I had certainly earned.
Then, out of nowhere, I couldn't understand the content of my phone screen. I assumed incorrectly that perhaps I just needed to lie down. Maybe I was overstressed.
Wrong. I was having a cerebral hemorrhage.
A blood vessel had ruptured in my brain, and blood kills brain tissue. I walked 30 feet from one end of my townhouse to the other and started climbing the steps. I got as far as the first landing — two steps. At that point, I lost the ability to move my right side. I slumped in a heap, unable to move, and vomited on myself.
It was and still is the lowest point of my life.
Thankfully I had my phone with me. 'Unthankfully,' I couldn't understand what was happening on the screen. I would make a single phone call after 30 minutes of effort. Straining effort. Fully cognizant of my worsening condition, I knew I was racing against the clock. When the call went through, I could not speak. My friend was struggling with a dying husband then, and she thought I might be joking or simply upset. Under the circumstances, I might have also been confused, particularly faced with what she was going through.
Why didn't I call 911? It's tough to explain, but I couldn't. Those parts of my brain had been killed already. The best I could manage was to find an existing group text and initiate a call from there.
As these things go, a series of miracles ultimately saved my life. The first was that my then-girlfriend came over unexpectedly three hours later. She found me, did everything right, and I will forever have her to thank that I am writing to you now.
For those three hours, I was profoundly conscious until I arrived at the ICU, where they sedated me. So I remember every moment of what I went through that night. I remember concluding I was helpless and would die on those 200-year-old steps. I remember wondering if I would be the first to do so and figured I was probably not. I wondered how my 12-year-old daughters would find out. I felt horrible for my girlfriend. I felt like I was letting so many people down. I hoped my dog would be okay. He had so much worry in his eyes.
It's usually at this point in the story when people try to figure out how to avoid this situation themselves. In retrospect, there were some warning signs. I did have high blood pressure, but I thought it was controlled. But how could I know, as I rarely monitored it? I did rarely have piercing headaches in the back of my head. If you're a lawyer involved in litigation, there is little you can do about the stress. That is just part of the job, and I had that too.
The Recovery
I would spend the next six months in hospitals. There, I learned to walk and talk again. And again learned to walk after I broke my leg six months after I left the hospital.
A2L Consulting, my company of almost 25 years, had to be shuttered. I was not in any position to run it, and by the time I was, everyone had left and taken jobs elsewhere.
So, the last 3 1/4 years have been challenging. Were it not for my family and friends, I'm not sure I would have ever left the hospital. But I'm strong, and I did leave with their help and the help of MANY others. That included the help of friends and clients who generously donated to a fund organized by that same friend I called that night.
Many of you have watched me launch another business, OurHistoryMuseum, in a challenging fundraising market. I'm still working on it, and I'm on about my fifth pivot, the most recent related to an upcoming Apple product that is set for release next month. Stay tuned.
I've been luckier than most. I have recovered, and it's time to return to work doing the thing I love—litigation consulting. I coined that term, after all.
The Persuadium Launch
Over the past 25 years, I have had many friends turn into clients, and clients turn into friends. Not surprisingly, many are calling, saying they are still looking for excellent litigation graphics, litigation consulting, and jury consulting providers.
Well, good news, we are returning to business as Persuadius. The official launch date is June 1, 2023, but we already have a number of thrilled clients working with us.
The logo is more straightforward with a nod to previous logos, symbolically tipping the scales in your favor. I think, for now, I will describe Persudium as the essential element of persuasion. Our team is eager to help you persuade, and you can email me to discuss a project or to say hello at ken@persuadius.com. I am excited to hear from you.
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