Son of beloved Vanderbilt faculty member Neil Green biking across U.S. raising funds for Children’s Hospital
Bruce Green's Los Angeles-to-Boston trip to honor his late father will take 48 days
May 24, 2018
Bruce Green will see many beautiful sights — and cross mountain ranges — in his ride across America.
Bruce Green’s 3,400-mile bike journey across America is in full swing.
On May 13, the 54-year-old Nashville man pedaled out of Los Angeles on a 48-day trek to Boston. It’s a quest to raise money for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in memory of his father, Neil E. Green, MD, the former director and chief of the Division of Pediatric Orthopaedics.
“When I am out there on the road, there are many times when I’m on my bike, riding, thinking, clearing my head,” Bruce Green said. “That’s a time when I reflect back on my life, on him and the things that he taught us over the years.”
“He treated my sister and me very similar to the residents that would come through. He would expect excellence of us, yet he gave us enough rope to kind of figure out our way.”
Neil E. Green, MD, joined Vanderbilt in 1976 and became an international leader in his specialty. He helped change the way orthopaedic surgeons cared for children with femur and forearm fractures. His research on bracing for children with scoliosis helped introduce part-time bracing as an effective treatment for the condition.
“He was a great doctor and a great mentor to a lot of the physicians that have come through Vanderbilt over the years,” Green said about his father, who died in 2016. “He treated my sister and me very similar to the residents that would come through. He would expect excellence of us, yet he gave us enough rope to kind of figure out our way. He was a great parent in that he wasn’t overbearing, yet he was there and didn’t let us get away with a lot either.”
Dr. Neil Green joined Vanderbilt in 1976 and was a worldwide leader in pediatric orthopaedics.
Green, who has been bicycling for about two decades, said he has picked up his pace and increased his stamina in recent years, doing cross-state tours in Iowa, Vermont, Tennessee and Florida. Pedaling across the United States is something he’s always wanted to do. He chose to take a longer, diagonal route to see more of the country.
“My father taught us the value of friendship and the value of life — just to go out there and make the most of every situation and give it your best,” he said. “I think that’s what he always wanted people to be — not necessarily perfect — but to give it 100 percent. That’s what I always try to do and live my life. I feel that I have the opportunity to do that now.”
To learn more about Bruce Green’s trip across America or to donate, go to https://vanderbilt.ejoinme.org//bikeacrosstheusa.
