The story of Olga (not her real name) from Cherkassy is somewhat different from what we hear lately. The girl ended up in Poland 7 months ago, she came with her husband for a side job. She planned to “see and try” only for three months, so the doctor prescribed ART in her hometown only for this period (Olga was registered at the local AIDS center since 2016). Working conditions were acceptable and the family accepted the offer to stay in Poland. Calling her social worker in Ukraine, Olga asked if he would be able to take therapy from the doctor again for three months and send her the medicines. It was possible, but the time flew by very quickly and access to therapy was again on the agenda. At that time, there was already a war in Ukraine, therapy sending turned out to be impossible, there was a risk of interruption.

 The girl decided to look for information first on the Internet in the hope that someone faced a similar situation and could share contacts, but she did not find anything. Olga asked a social worker.

“He immediately advised the #HelpNow service and gave links to information on how to contact. I left a request and received a response – they asked me to clarify what kind of therapy I need. I sent photos of my medicines and literally within half an hour I had a complete list of all clinics in Poland with contacts where they provide Ukrainians with the necessary assistance.”

Olga decided to go immediately to the nearest medical center (city of Zielona Góra). They listened to her, made copies of the documents (foreign passport and pesel – a person’s identification code in Poland) for a medical history and appointed a convenient time for a doctor’s appointment. At the right time, the girl underwent his initial examination, received therapy for a month and a recommendation – to undergo a full examination, as time goes on, so you need to know your condition. 

“I can describe their attitude in one word – wonderful! I was warned that I would need to allocate three days for the examination. Choose the days that are convenient for me. And when I asked what to take with you, they answered – nothing but personal things. It’s free. I am grateful to your service and Polish doctors for helping me!”