Day 10: Wednesday July 30

Moweaqua to Forsyth: 25 miles: 

Left at 6:00 A.M. Walked thru Macon, Erwin and arrived in downtown Decatur at noon.  Unfortunately, I was not able to continue on from Decatur into Forsyth for my scheduled stop.  The severe pain caused by my shin splints in my left leg, combined with the extreme blistering on the bottoms of my feet, were causing me to limp while walking the last three days.  I could feel discomfort arising in my right knee and hip due to compensating for the limping in my left leg.  I could feel that other parts of my body were beginning to be affected; therefore, I did not want to cause any permanent damage by continuing to walk.  I made the decision to suspend my walk so I could heal up, and I will begin again sometime in the near future from where I stopped in downtown Decatur.  

My friends Jerry Tax and Larry Kosiek were already scheduled to meet me in Decatur for lunch, so I asked them to bring me home this afternoon.  As of noon today, I have completed 232 miles of my 435 mile trip.  The walk is not canceled... it is only suspended for healing purposes!  I will contact everybody once I have the chance to reschedule the resumption of my walk from Decatur to South Beloit.  

I am currently home resting up.  Here are pictures that my son Kevin insisted that I post, showing my swollen left leg and my blisters (couldn't get the bandages off yet):