Ilse Zaal, doctor for the mentally handicapped and trainee palliative care physician, has traveled to the Hungarian village of Beregsurány. As a volunteer she offers primary care to refugees for ten days. She is staying in a temporary aid station about a mile from the Ukrainian border. Her journey is an adventure, special and also exciting. Because what does Ilse find? How can it be significant? Ilse gives a personal insight into her diary three times. Read her latest story here.

“ Last time I wrote about my visit to Fülpösdarócz, where two children live with a progressive metabolic disease. They did not have access to a spacer for the puffers they use. It has taken a lot of effort, but now they have a space room. The critics among us will say: it's a drop in the ocean, and maybe not even that. I can't blame them, but as long as these kids are helped - and I'm convinced of that - then that's what I did it for.

Over the past few days, together with a UN employee, I visited several places in the region where refugees are received. They are people who are too poor, old, handicapped or have too many psychological problems to continue their journey. They often have had little or no education. And here, in high temperatures, do heavy seasonal work.

And that's how I ended up in Szamossályi, where a large group of refugees had been camped out for two months in a school gymnasium. There were concerns about a two-year-old boy with an abnormality in one of his eyes. He did not speak yet, despite his two years. Partly because of this, there were concerns about the development of the child. And after a brief observation, I had to conclude that these concerns were justified. Only… now what? In the Netherlands I had referred the child for developmental testing. I had asked a speech therapist for a consultation because of the speech delay. Have a psychologist map out the deviant behavior. And of course he was then referred to the ophthalmologist. But I'm not in the Netherlands right now. And so I decided to start with what was most urgent: the ophthalmologist. I discussed my concerns with the UN counselor and indicated that the child should be referred quickly. He indicated that he was very happy with this advice, because he himself had suspected for a long time that this was necessary. Contrary to his idea, my (doctor's) advice was weighty, and he was confident that it would also work in the foreseeable future. And that is exactly what makes this job so meaningful! This can make the difference between a life with good eyesight or a life with low vision.

 The gymnasium as a reception location

And so ended my stay in Hungary. My involvement with the refugees here, especially those with intellectual disabilities, will not end. Because I am convinced that the care of the doctor VG should not end at a national border, but is very much needed in areas such as this. Because if one thing has become even clearer to me this week: people with intellectual disabilities are always vulnerable, but a war makes that much worse.