HOUSTON – Therapeutic optometrist Dr. Ellen Fandry wants you to have 20/20 vision in 2019.
"We opened Dec. 6. I'm a therapeutic optometrist. We do comprehensive eye exams," Fandry said.
She opened her office in Seabrook, in the shadows of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, just weeks before the government shutdown.
"We have a lot of engineers, a lot of people that work in the plants. We've had a couple of NASA employees come through. Some of them were essential personnel. Some of them were not. Some are working right now. Some aren't," Fandry said.
Most of the more than 3,000 NASA workers here are furloughed. Only about 200 employees in critical roles, like keeping the International Space Station flying, are at work.
NASA told its more than 17,000 employees across the country that it cannot guarantee back pay once the government fully reopens.
Contract workers also feel the effects.
Fandry said she wants to see into the future and see her neighbors at NASA back at work soon.
"I hope to see some of the NASA employees as patients. We hope they can get back in the office, get those paychecks and come in and see us," she said.