My walk across America is over, but my mission for South Side kids is not

As I write this, I am sitting in stillness for the first time in a while. I’ve been walking across America for nearly 200 days, and I admit I’m itching to get back onto the open road. I loved the walk — meeting new people, seeing the hidden corners of America, and learning her stories.

But the doctors have made it plain that I cannot walk anymore. When I had my first surgery to remove a painful growth called a pyogenic granuloma from my heel, I thought I was good to go. However, that growth...