Local mother, teacher, and celiac fighter, Lucia Ochoa is bringing awareness about Celiac Disease to the Texarkana area through an event happening May 27th: Painting for a Cure. Texarkana local 1894 Gallery, will be hosting the event and allowing visitors to help raise money for Celiac Disease research by purchasing their very own paint and pour color painting. Each painting will cost $40, and monies raised will go towards Celiac Disease fundraising.
May is Celiac Disease awareness month, and all month long Lucia Ochoa has been posting on social media different facts and information about the disease. “There was an article published through Beyond Celiac, an organization that I am an ambassador for, that focuses on patient research and the hopes of finding a cure or a treatment. Currently there is no cure or treatment for celiac disease. Celiac is an auto-immune disease and there isn’t enough awareness about it, not enough resources for it, and definitely not enough support to help those going through it feel safe,” said Lucia. Lucia has taken the entire month to educate others about celiac disease, and has been working with friends, family and community members to put together this week’s fundraiser.
“I want to see others learning about the disease. My son and I both suffer from celiac and there just isn’t a lot of research or knowledge about it out there. Did you know that celiac is genetic? That’s why my son has it as well. 1 in 5 children’t don’t heal from the recommended gluten free diet. Buying groceries is more than 180% more expensive for celiac disease sufferers. It’s not only a health burden, but an emotional and financial burden for those who suffer from celiac. One of the scariest statistics is that 83% of Americans who have celiac are actually misdiagnosed with something else,” said Lucia.
Recently, Beyond Celiac, a non-profit organization that is raising funds for research into celiac posted an article about Lucia and her family. Beyond Celiac is also the leading patient research driven organization who provide grants for international research. Lucia will be raising monies for her fundraiser for Beyond Celiac to help with the funds for that research. Lucia is one of the only ambassadors for Beyond Celiac in our area, and her event will greatly help with funding more research into celiac disease. “I want to give a special thanks to family and friends who are donating their time and energy to make the event possible. I could not do it alone. To Mrs. Debbie Nicholas and Gallery 1894 for the amazing art fun and to Claire and Drew Wilson, Delicious Delights Cafe and TaMolly’s for providing gluten free snacks for the event, I want to give you a huge thank you.” If you are interested in purchasing tickets for the event please follow the information on the image below.
