EDWARDSVILLE • Bob Lammert believes his recovery from Parkinson's disease 10 years ago was a miracle.

Since then, the 78-year-old Edwardsville man has devoted much of his renewed health and energy to bringing the "miracle" of better hearing to numerous people in rural northern Mexico, a mission he calls "God's work."

Already a diabetic, Lammert was stricken with Parkinson's in 1999. Soon he could not walk without a walker or cane. A devout Roman Catholic, Lammert traveled to France in 2000 and visited the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, whose waters are believed by many to have healing powers. Count Lammert among the believers.

"About 28 days later, I woke up one morning and my arms and legs were limber," he said. "Within a month, my penmanship came back and I started playing golf again."

Lammert is vigorous for a man of his years. He says he still plays golf and works out at the YMCA three times a week.

A native St. Louisan, Lammert worked for 40 years as an accountant before he "burned out." One of his daughters is deaf in one ear and Lammert was familiar with hearing loss. He earned a certificate in audio prostology and, with a partner, secured a Miracle-Ear hearing aid franchise in Fairview Heights in 1991. He later bought out his partner. The business grew, eventually employing six consultants and serving a 10-county area with several satellite offices in Metro East. He sold the business after he became ill in 1999.

Not long after his "miracle," Lammert learned through his daughter and son-in-law of a large and unmet need for hearing-loss services in and around the city of Nuevo Casas Grandes, about 120 miles south of the U.S. border. People in the region, many of them very poor, had to travel 31/2 hours to the larger cities of Juarez or Chihuahua to see hearing-loss professionals.

With renewed vitality, Lammert went to Nuevo Casas Grandes in 2002 and, working at a local nonprofit school and clinic, treated and examined hundreds of people and fitted 57 hearing aids - all he had brought with him.

Lammert said he realized on that first trip that the need for services far exceeded what he could provide. "What I did was just a Band-Aid," he said.

Lammert was inspired by Tim Whetten, the adopted son of Ed and Gayle Whetten, administrators of the clinic. Tim suffered from cerebral palsy and was using a wheelchair.

"He made the most of it," Lammert said. "He gave me much encouragement." Tim was 17 when he died in 2007.

Lammert returned to Mexico in 2003, 2005 and 2008 but, back home, he was gathering testing equipment, used hearing aids (some parts can be reused), raising money and planning to expand the program by training local people to test patients and fit and repair hearing aids.

Since its inception, the clinic has screened more than 3,700 people for hearing problems. More than 1,000 have gotten hearing aids, most at no cost. Those who can afford it pay a nominal charge to help support the program.

In 2003, Lammert examined a boy, Ivan Lopez Saldivar, who had no hearing at all. A hearing aid would not help. "His mother kissed my hand," Lammert said. "She said I was his last hope. I prayed for God's help."

Lammert raised money for Ivan to travel to a clinic where he could get advanced testing, then raised money that allowed him to receive a cochlear implant. Now 15, Ivan attends school and is able to work.

There are other similar stories and Lammert becomes emotional as he talks about them.

"I don't know if God gave me healing powers but I think there were some little miracles," he said. "Without a doubt, it changed my life completely. It has become a passion."

Lammert partnered with the Whettens, who administer La Gaviota, a private school for special-needs children, and an affiliated medical, dental and vision clinic. The Whettens are from Colonia Juarez, one of two Mormon colonies outside Nuevo Casas Grandes. With several other families in 1993, they formed a support group for families of special-needs children that became the nonprofit APNMI, which operates the school and clinic.

When they were looking for a way to help people with hearing problems, Lammert stepped up.

"All the kids run to him and love him," Gayle Whetten said. "We have big pictures of him around the school. He is an incredible man. His impact will continue long after he's gone."

Lammert established the Labor of Love Association, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation that supports the work of the clinic. He accepts donations of money or used hearing aids at the Labor of Love Association, P.O. Box 1302, Columbus, N.M. 88029.

Lammert admits to being a workaholic and says his wife, Shirley, urges him to slow down. They will celebrate 50 years of marriage on Nov. 24.

Though he hasn't been to Mexico since 2008, he continues to work in support of the clinic and hints at another trip in coming months.