Patient Experience
I'd been to a couple of doctors about this constant fatigue and weird joint pain, and everyone just said it was stress or maybe a vitamin thing. Dr. Arpitha Rao actually listened to the whole, messy story. She ordered some specific tests I hadn't had before and sat me down to explain how all these seemingly random symptoms could be connected. Turns out it was something pretty rare. She didn't make me feel like a hypochondriac for pushing for answers, and her plan actually made sense.
Had to get a minor cyst removed. Honestly, I was more nervous about the hospital process than the procedure itself. Dr. Rao walked me through exactly what would happen, step by step, in the clinic room. The whole thing took maybe twenty minutes. She checked in the next day herself, which I wasn't expecting. It was just a straightforward thing, but the way she handled it made a world of difference.
The Apollo waiting area was packed, I won't lie. But the front desk lady saw I was looking lost and pointed me in the right direction. Once I got to Dr. Rao's clinic, her nurse, I think her name was Priya, was really calming. She got my vitals and just chatted about normal stuff, which took the edge off. The place felt efficient, not cold. Even the cleaner in the hall gave me a smile.
My kid was really scared to see the doctor. Dr. Rao didn't just talk to me; she got down on his level and asked him about his school and his favorite cartoon before even looking at his throat. She explained what the strep test was using a silly voice. He stopped crying. As a parent, seeing a doctor who gets that the fear is real, that meant more than any prescription.