FIRST PERSON: Dr. Tyson Green

Dr. Tyson Green – Podiatric Surgeon at Center for Orthopaedics

To his patients across Southwest Louisiana, Dr. Tyson Green is the foot and ankle surgeon who gets people back on their feet. But anyone who knows him will tell you his greatest role has nothing to do with the operating room. Dr. Green and his wife Hillary are parents to four children:  Jackson, 20, Finley, 15, Abram, 14, and Kiki, 9, and that is where his heart lives. A devoted husband, father, teacher, and coach, he approaches family with the same dedication he brings to his patients. Ahead of Father’s Day, Thrive spoke with Dr. Green about balancing a demanding career with a busy family life, the lessons fatherhood has taught him, and the values he hopes his children carry long after they’ve left home.

How did your own father influence the way you parent? Were there any other father figures in your life who made a lasting impact?  

I had the best dad you could hope for; He would do anything for anyone. He was very service oriented, both in his career, first as a Marine, and then in the air business with UPS. My dad showed me how to work hard for what matters and, above all, to be a good person. If you do that, the rest of your life will fall into place. My residency director, Dr. Douglas Murdoch, was a role model who shaped both the doctor and the father I am today. By example he showed me that success and family are not competing priorities. When you see someone live that balance, you realize you can choose to do it too. 

How did becoming a father change your perspective on life and success? 

It changed everything! Success became about being the best father and husband I could be, with family my top priority. Everything else – work, the teaching, the coaching, the healthcare advocacy – exists in service of that role, not in competition with it. I feel that clarity also makes me better at my job, because when you know why you’re working, the work takes on a deeper meaning. 

 What is one lesson fatherhood has taught you? 

To recognize how each child is different. Early on, you might assume your job as a parent is to shape your children toward some vision you have of who they should become, but letting them be different isn’t just okay – it’s actually the most amazing part of raising kids. Watching them discover and become who they are meant to be is something you can’t put into words. Our job is to introduce them to different things and let them find what connects. I’ve got four who all have completely unique personalities and talents. Jackson is intensely studious and analytical, and is now putting that mind to work at RIT in Rochester, NY. Finley is quite gifted physically with everything he does, however, he has found his calling in music, exploring instruments (especially drums), producing, and performing with a passion that lights up a stage. Abram is a natural athlete who is working his way through multiple sports, with an intense passion for basketball. And then there’s Kiki, the youngest, who is still joyfully exploring her options by excelling at everything her brothers do.

Your three sons came first – how has fatherhood been different with your daughter? 

Hillary and I thought our family might be complete after the three boys. But something kept nudging me. I’d watch friends with little girls. And then I went to a wedding and watched a father walk his daughter down the aisle and thought, “I want that moment.” We began the foster to adoption process to find our daughter. And when Kiki came into our lives, we knew we had made the right decision. From the first moment I held her, there was no way they were ever going to take her away. I love getting to do the more girly things with her, like daddy-daughter trips with her to Disney World dressed as her favorite characters (I really do make a great Prince Naveen) or cozying up on the couch watching our favorite movies. 

What is the most rewarding part of being a father? 

It’s not the trophies or the grades or the milestones, as proud as that makes me. The moments that stop me in my tracks are seeing the right choice made when no one is watching. Hearing about the unprompted kindness or the uncompromising defense of social injustice. That glimpse of character in my kids tells me the values Hillary and I are working to teach them are taking root.

What’s the most challenging part?

Watching them fail or be hurt. But protecting them from disappointment would be a greater disservice. There are too many times in life that things aren’t going to go right. It’s not my job to erase the problem, but I’ll always be a steady voice of support and encouragement as they solve it.

Are there similarities between being a doctor and being a parent? 

The parallels are impossible to ignore. Listening, guiding, teaching, meeting people where they are – are a big part of both. You have to be able to recognize the frustration and realize that beneath the frustration is almost always fear, confusion and the need to feel heard. In medicine and in parenting, how you respond to that moment matters more than you think. I am forever advocating for diabetes awareness and patients’ rights, whether its locally or in Washington DC. I defend that just as strongly as I would issues that could affect my family.

You founded a residency program, teach a course at McNeese and coach a high school soccer team. How do these roles tap into your “father” skills?  

The residency program grew out of a dream of being a high school chemistry teacher I never quite let go of. It’s such a privilege to guide these young doctors for three years. They come in somewhat uncertain of themselves, and my job is to help shape not just their skills, but their confidence. That feels very much like parenting to me. Our 9th resident will graduate this year and I’m still very close with every one of them. They are family. 

I’m a lifelong soccer player who competed all the way into college, and I started coaching my kids’ soccer teams because I felt like I had something to offer. Then I was asked to be an assistant soccer coach at St. Louis High School and said yes. What I did not expect was how much this coaching experience would give back. Taking a group of young men who went through personal loss as well as struggles on the field, making them believe in themselves first, then in their ability to win it all, was more rewarding than anything I ever felt as a player

When the opportunity to teach at McNeese came up, I didn’t think I could fit that in. But I really wanted to do it, so I adjusted my surgery schedule two mornings a week. I’m able to give these students some real-world insight into sports injuries and opportunities in the medical field, I’ve taught for almost 20 semesters and love every minute of it. I run into former students who are working in the healthcare field, and knowing my class had even a small role in their journey is incredibly fulfilling. I also get a front row seat to the best teacher I have ever known in my wife. The way she continues to be innovative and constantly change her methods makes me want to be a better educator.  

How do you balance the responsibilities of your medical practice with being a father?

I get that question a lot, but here’s what I keep coming back to: I only take on things I really love. As long as I’m doing that, why would I give them up? If it were overwhelming, if I were missing things that mattered, I wouldn’t do it. I’d adjust. Sure, there are times it’s challenging to juggle it all, but I think it’s beneficial for my kids to see me find a way to make it all work, and to involve them in figuring it all out, with family always as the priority. Having my biggest fan by my side for almost 23 years now helps quite a bit too.

If you could give your pre-fatherhood self one piece of advice, what would it be? Don’t wish a single day away, even the hard ones. Never go to bed thinking there’s always tomorrow. That’s not promised. It all flies by so fast. Enjoy every minute you have with your kids.  

What is one thing you hope your children will always remember about you? 

That they mattered the most. That I was actively present in their lives, not because I had to be, but because I wanted to be. I like to think – I hope – I am giving my kids a good example of how to create a life they love, one full of people they love and things they love to do. 

Describe your perfect Father’s Day? 

That’s not hard to imagine. It would be one where we are all together. Maybe on a pontoon boat. No schedule, no phones, just relaxing and enjoying being together.