From Silence to Service
Bobbi Guerrette: From Silence to Service — How the Foundation Opens Doors
For much of her early life, Bobbi Guerrette experienced the world in near silence. Born with bilateral microtia and atresia — a rare condition where both ears are underdeveloped and hearing is severely impaired — Bobbi had no functional hearing: one ear was completely closed, and the other could not provide sound.
Her parents, Jamie and Ryan Guerrette of Mars Hill, Maine, were determined to give her every chance to thrive. At just three months old, Bobbi received a bone-anchored hearing aid, but creating fully functional ears required two highly specialized surgeries at the California Ear Institute — procedures that insurance would not cover and that cost nearly $100,000, including travel.
In 2009, after local news coverage, anonymous donors stepped forward to cover the full cost on one condition: that any future insurance reimbursements be used to support Bobbi’s and her sister’s education, and to help other Maine children in need of medical care. Thanks to this remarkable generosity, Bobbi received her surgeries and no longer relies on her hearing aid. She dances ballet, swims freely, and enjoys the simple joy of sound every day.
Bobbi’s journey inspired her to give back. Today, she is an aspiring nurse, motivated by her own medical experiences and the care she received as a child. With support from the Percival P. Baxter Foundation for Maine's Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children and Families (PPBF), Bobbi explored medical careers at an RIT summer camp and later attended the Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Loss Conference in Chicago. These experiences, funded through the Foundation, gave Bobbi valuable hands-on exposure to the field she now plans to enter — she’s already a certified CNA and will begin pursuing her BSN in Lewiston this fall.
Beyond financial support, the PPBF helped Bobbi and her family stay connected to statewide Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities — from lunchtime groups and virtual gatherings during COVID to parent support networks that bridge Maine’s rural distances.
Today, Bobbi’s mother, Jamie, serves on the Foundation’s board, helping ensure other families have access to the same vital resources and opportunities.
Click here to open a slideshow Bobbi presented to the school board at the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, sharing in her own words the difference the Foundation has made in her life.
