When Prashid Lamichhane first experienced a migraine with aura symptoms a couple of years ago, he didn\u2019t know what was going on.<\/p>\n
For about 30 minutes, he saw shimmering zigzagging lines that grew in size. The condition, which has no cure, came out of nowhere, Lamichhane said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first time was kind of scary,\u201d the 16-year-old said. \u201cI thought I was losing my vision.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Lamichhane learned more about the neurological condition, he realized very little eye health information was readily accessible. And despite the fact that many people have problems with their eyes \u2014 ranging from astigmatism to color blindness to dry eye \u2014 most don\u2019t talk about it.<\/p>\n
Lamichhane decided to do something in 2024 and created Ocura Eye Health<\/a>. What started as a local initiative at Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD\u2019s Trinity High School has expanded its influence and helped create the city of Euless\u2019s Eye Health Awareness Week in March.<\/p>\n Ocura is looking to become a nonprofit this summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t really know what the clear goal was,\u201d Lamichhane said. \u201cWe just had a team, and we just knew we were gonna do something with eye health and awareness in our community. Seeing these different positive reactions from people through online comments motivated us to further pursue this cause.\u201d<\/p>\n The group has primarily promoted its work through online outreach and events, such as informative social media posts, publicly accessible webinars and presentations to local students, covering topics such as ocular migraines and vision care.<\/p>\n Ocura envisions more in-person events for the community.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like you would get more people (involved with) a program or initiative if you connected with them in-person rather than just (through) a presentation,\u201d said Ryan Shivakoti, head of financial outreach at Ocura.<\/p>\n The organization also looks to connect prospective medical students with mentors in the industry and the academic space.\u00a0<\/p>\n International expansion is also important for the group. Ocura has already given a presentation at the Nightingale School in Kathmandu, Nepal, but the organization is searching for more international officers to host other informative sessions for young students.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs we gained momentum, we decided to scale it up and become more virtual internationally,\u201d Lamichhane said.<\/p>\n The support from family members and teachers in the Euless community has been instrumental in inspiring the high schoolers\u2019 efforts, Lamichhane said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got a lot of positive responses from people that also had different eye health issues within our community. People outside our community were also supportive of it, and they were commenting really positive things (on social media),\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that just further motivated us to kind of pursue what we thought was right.\u201d<\/p>\n Ismael M. Belkoura is the nonprofit editor for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from North Texas Community Foundation. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n