NEW WATERFORD Bleier inspires local man

The former Steelers fullback visited David Karpinski, the victim of a car accident.
By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NEW WATERFORD -- Rocky Bleier has spent his life helping others.
His blocking as a fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers set the stage for Franco Harris to reach the NFL's Hall of Fame and for Terry Bradshaw to win a handful of Super Bowl rings.
Bleier's tour of duty serving in Vietnam has been called courageous and heroic. He was wounded there twice.
What happened: So, when David Karpinski of New Waterford was injured in a major car accident over a year ago, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that Bleier called with words of encouragement.
"A mutual friend, Tom Butler, said David was feeling poorly so we had lunch with him a year ago," Bleier said.
"We've been staying in touch. The rehab process has its ups and downs. He needed some inspiration."
Bleier, who now gives motivational speeches, should know a little about rehabilitation of the human body.
He was shot in the left thigh in Vietnam and suffered an injury to his right foot when a grenade exploded.
Through a strong personal discipline, he recovered enough to play in the NFL for a decade.
Depression: Karpinski admits he suffered "severe depression" after breaking his neck in three places in the "horrible accident."
"Rocky related to it because of Vietnam," Karpinski said of the injury. At first, Karpinski was told surgery on the broken neck could be life threatening.
There also was a chance of paralysis.
But then a friend of a friend of Karpinski asked the Steelers' great to call Karpinski with some words of encouragement following the surgery. Their friendship quickly developed.
Saturday, Bleier, his wife and their two daughters drove from their home in the Pittsburgh area to visit with Karpinski, who is still recovering from the accident.
While there, the two families celebrated Karpinski's 60th birthday, which fell on March 11.
Right on time: "Rocky called me first about a year ago," Karpinski said.
That occurred at about the height of the depression.
"He said all the right words. He said 'I'm going to help you get through this.' "
The former captain of the Notre Dame football team has autographed about 100 photos in the last year for friends of Karpinski.
"He never lets anyone down."
Recently, Bleier and his wife, Jan, adopted their two girls -- Ellen, who will be 3 on April 23, and Rose, who turned 2 on March 8, from the Ukraine. The girls helped to round out a family that includes two other children, ages 24 and 27.
Bleier had his shoulder replaced 12 weeks ago but still managed to carry his kids around. He's always found a way of carrying more than his share.