Greg Ganske: “Nick Ackerman, of Colfax-Mingo, IA, lost to Clint Jones, of Bondurant-Farrar to place sixth during the recent Iowa State…”

“Nick Ackerman, of Colfax-Mingo, IA, lost to Clint Jones, of Bondurant-Farrar to place sixth during the recent Iowa State high school wrestling tournament. What is remarkable about this is that Nick's lower legs were amputated just below the knees when he was 1 rac{1}{2} years old in order to stem an infection threatening his life. Nick has always thought that he was normal: ``I used to break the legs off my GI Joes to make them look like me.'' Years ago Nick corrected a school nurse who was explaining to his friends that Nick had a disability by telling her that he had a special ability. ``I can take my legs off and nobody else in school can.'' As Vince Lombardi said, ``it is not whether you get knocked down, it is whether you get up.'' Nick may not have won a State championship in wrestling, but for those of us who watched him compete from his knees, he is a real winner. I and my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives salute his spirit.”