[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 55 (Monday, May 6, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E720-E721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN HONOR OF JENNIE NIMTZ, GRADUATION FROM EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID D. PHELPS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 6, 2002

  Mr. PHELPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Jennie Nimtz 
of Benton, Illinois, in my district, on the occasion of her graduation 
from Eastern Illinois University on Saturday, May 4, 2002.
  It has been Jennie Nimtz's lifelong dream to graduate from college. 
Jennie herself stated that, ``I have dreamed about graduation day like 
most women dream about their wedding day.'' Like many students, she 
graduated from high school, applied and was accepted into Eastern 
Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. While this description 
sounds like the actions of a typical young person, it is Jennie's 
physical condition and attitude that set her apart from her peers.
  Jennie was born three months premature and was given six hours to 
live. Since that time she has been proving others wrong about her 
disabilities despite her afflictions. Jennie suffers from cerebral 
palsy, is confined to a wheelchair, and has been declared legally 
blind. She has been hospitalized sixty-eight times in the past ten 
years and has been close to death four or five times. Recently, she was 
told that she has a seizure disorder caused by brain damage that was 
brought on by a massive septic infection. In addition, she also suffers 
from massive digestive problems, pancreatic disease that sometimes 
requires feeding through a surgically implanted IV in her stomach, 
constant vertigo, and respiratory problems that require an oxygen tank.
  Yet, in spite of these infirmities, Jennie became an active part of 
the Eastern Illinois University campus. She lobbied the administration

[[Page E721]]

to make buildings more accessible to those in wheelchairs and served on 
campus committees geared toward helping students with handicaps. And, 
she became friends with the Health Service personnel, campus police 
officers, Charleston EMT's, and students who offered assistance to her 
over the years. At her graduation ceremony on Saturday, she will be 
escorted across the stage by Lane Davis, Charleston Firefighter and 
Paramedic, and University Police Officer Art Mitchell.
  Mr. Speaker, Jennie Nimtz's story has been an inspiration to everyone 
on the campus of Eastern Illinois University and to the citizens of her 
hometown in Benton, Illinois. I offer my heartfelt congratulations to 
Jennie and her parents, Robert and Lynn Nimtz, on this tremendous 
achievement of her college graduation.

                          ____________________