loved chatting with Adrienne! You can tell how much she loves her work, I hope you enjoy learning about her small but special business!
Me: Would you mind telling us a little bit about yourself and what you do here?
Adrienne: Sure! My name is Adrienne Leyden and I graduated school in 1977 and I have been doing ultrasound ever since! It's been 45 plus years of doing ultrasound. I started ultrasound when ultrasound started in the doctor's offices. It's always been a dream of mine since 3d ultrasound came out to offer this. One of those things that fear stands in the way of going out of the box and doing something you've never done before.
Adrienne then pointed to the two signs she has hanging in her cute little office space. One says "She believed she could so she did" and the other one said "You can't fail if you don't try."
Adrienne: Those pretty much sums up me opening up my own business. So I've been open for about 6 years now. It was hard, it wasn't easy. I had to buy all of the equipment and find an office space. Word of mouth has helped and I really pride myself on what I do so it's going well.
Me: That's so great. I think it would be so cool to be growing along with the industry, starting when it started and using the advances as they come out! I'm sure you can see all the advances now.
Adrienne: Oh yeah, I have some stories!
Me: So what made you want to do ultrasound?
Adrienne: Well I started out in x-ray. What made me want to do that is my mother, she was sick with kidney disease when I was young and she died when I was 16 years old. Leading up to a very impressionable age I was in and out of hospitals a lot with my mother. She was on dialysis 3 times a week, we were in and out of the hospital all of the time, she was always going to radiology and getting x rays. So around 13 years old I thought maybe I wanted to work in the hospital, maybe I want to be a nurse, maybe do x-ray or lab. I wasn't really sure but I went around to places and decided to do. I ultimately decided on x-ray. My mother died when I was 16, graduated high school, then went to college for it. When I was in school, right before I graduated they delivered this big piece of equipment and I was like what is that! It was ultrasound! We hadn't even learned about it yet that's how new it was. I took on the endeavors with the doctors and learned along with them. But it really all started with being in the hospital with my mom.
Me: Wow, that's so impactful I'm sure. I'm sure you have a lot of empathy that goes with your story. So what is your very favorite part of what you do now?
Adrienne: My very favorite part is that I feel like I'm celebrating in a miracle. I believe that it's such a miracle when you see that baby inside there. From the minute I can see a heartbeat at 6 weeks and follow them through. Just seeing how happy they are and to be part of that experience. I make people happy with this business. In the hospital, I'm just doing the medical stuff but here I make people happy, that's the best part.
Me: Yes, that's so special. One thing that I've been asking everyone that I interview is what is one thing you want every woman to know?
Adrienne: God is in control. Everyone always says you have the best job ever, well I have the best job ever when things are good. Things aren't always good in this field. I don't have the answer to that, we aren't in control.
Me: oh yeah, that's definitely tough. So how does working with you look?
Adrienne: A lot of my clients come in for the gender around 16 weeks. If I see them for the gender I will usually see them again around 28 weeks, when I recommend. They always come back. With my 3d ultrasounds if the baby is not cooperating I let them come back for another session free of charge. I go above and beyond to get those pictures of that face!
Me: What's your most popular package?
Adrienne: It's probably 50/50 for gender at 16 weeks and 3d at 28 weeks. I just started a new package called the peace of mind package from 10-13 weeks because during the pandemic many aren't getting into an ultrasound until they are already 3 months pregnant. So if I can give them some peace of mind, I'll do that. It's a little bit nerve wracking to be honest because it's their first ultrasound. I don't want people to come to me if they are bleeding or have any problem but if it's just peace of mind they can definitely come in!
Me: That's so nice, I know I would be so stressed out not having an ultrasound for that long! Is there anything else you want to add?
Adrienne: Not really, I just love to make people happy and I love what I do. I love looking at these babies and I get just as excited as the moms!
Me: What happens if they don't want to know the gender?
Adrienne: Oh, that's where my 46 years of experience comes in! What I'll do is turn the big screen off and turn the monitor away from them. I'll take a couple of pictures then type it a boy or it's a girl with an arrow and then I'll put it in an envelope for them to take with them.
Me: What's the best way for people to connect with you?
Adrienne: My website and Facebook.
Adrienne didn't mention it until after our interview but I have to add it because I love it so much. She has these sweet little stuffed animals that she will actually record your baby's heartbeat with a recorder box and then stuff it in the animal for you to listen to whenever you want! How special is that?!
Thank you Adrienne for taking time out of your busy day to speak with me and tell us a little bit about what you do!
"the moment a child is born, a mother is born also."
much love,
Olivia