Rocky Bleier finished his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1968, then was drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam. After only three months his platoon was ambushed in a rice paddy. A bullet hit his left thigh, and a grenade sent shrapnel through his right leg, taking part of his foot. Doctors said he would never play football again. In the hospital ward, a young triple amputee stopped at every bed each day to encourage the others. Bleier thought, if he could do that, what about me? He decided right there he would walk again. He went on to win four Super Bowls with the Steelers. One encourager can change a man’s whole direction.
