Photo By Staff Sgt. Sarah Stalder Lundgren | Debra Norman, a local Rhea County resident, receives an eye exam during Operation...... read more read more
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Since day one of Operation Healthy Tennessee, our mission has been clear: serve the community while strengthening our skills. The results have been inspiring for both local residents and the service members who support them.
One visitor to the Rhea County clinic location shared her story. A proud grandmother of 14, Debra Norman came in to see our optometry team. Within 24 hours, she was able to obtain a new prescription and pick-up a brand-new pair of glasses, all at no cost to her.
“I appreciate it here because you are all helping us, and we're helping you all train a little bit more, “ said Norman. “And for some of us that are living paycheck to paycheck and can't really afford the insurance, it makes life better for us because we know we can get all this stuff done, no questions asked.”
The impact goes both ways. For Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class, John Fambrough, an optical laboratory technician, assigned to Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Va., the mission has been just as meaningful.
“Seeing a physical impact is amazing, because we never really see the patient receiving the glasses,” said Fambrough. “Here, we’re able to get the prescription, walk them over to optometry and get to see them try on the glasses. Seeing the impact is amazing because we usually just see it as math on a piece of paper but here we can see the final product.”
Every exam, every conversation, every pair of glasses– it’s more than a service; it’s a connection.
| Date Taken: | 07.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.20.2025 12:38 |
| Story ID: | 543289 |
| Location: | EVENSVILLE, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 55 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Where Service Meets Sight: The Power of Helping Locally, by SSgt Sarah Stalder Lundgren, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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