‘We want as many families as possible to feel the support that we did’ Plainville nonprofit seeks Greene County connection

Editor’s note: It is purely by coincidence this story is published today, March 4, which is National Brain Injury Awareness Day. We like to think it was meant to be.

In existence for 14 years, the nonprofit Travis Burkhart Foundation (TBF) has helped approximately 1,110 individuals and families in nine states and 27 different counties.

To date, the Foundation has dispensed nearly $300,000, helping people facing sudden and often catastrophic illness and the hardships and out-of-pocket expenses it can bring to one’s life.

Help with medical bills, lodging for out-of-town medical needs, help with high-deductible medical insurance plans and hundreds upon hundreds of gas cards over the years have been given away by the TBF.

The Foundation, created by the Burkhart family of Plainville, is named for and was founded by Mike and Kim Burkhart’s son, Travis.

Burkhart before the accident.

Travis Burkhart was just 22 years old when he suffered a severe closed-head injury and a fracture of the C-2 in his neck after losing control of the car he was driving in snow, freezing rain and falling temperatures.

Burkhart hit a patch of ice, spun around, hit a truck, spun again and slammed into a ditch on an ordinary Tuesday morning, February 12, 2008, A date that would change the course of the lives of the Burkhart family forever.

Burkhart's car after the accident.

No one who had worked the accident scene or emergency room staff at Daviess Community Hospital expected Burkhart to survive his injuries.

Transported to an Evansville hospital by ambulance, Burkhart was soon surrounded by his family, although he was unable to communicate with them. A neurosurgeon informed the Burkharts if their son did survive the night, he would spend the rest of his life in a nursing home. The Burkharts refused to believe either grim prediction; they gathered up their faith and knew Travis would live and he would come home.

After two weeks in a medically-induced coma in an ICU, Burkhart was transferred to Select Specialty Hospital. For the next eight weeks, Burkhart slowly emerged from inside of himself, showing signs of recognition, problem solving and other cognitive skill improvements.

Burkhart had still not spoken since the accident, but his mother prayed nonstop for his recovery, asking God for a positive sign that her son would recover and be okay. She was given that sign on Easter Sunday.

“I told Travis goodnight and that I loved him,” she said. “Then I said our prayer. As I turned to leave, with my prayer for a sign unanswered, I heard Travis say, ‘Mom, mom, mom.’ It stopped me in my steps. I turned to see him looking at me and calling my name.

This was the first time he had spoken since the wreck. The tears poured like rain that night in praise and thankfulness for my answered prayer at just the perfect time. God’s timing is always perfect.”

Burkhart with a prized possession, a football autographed by Tim Tebow.

After a long period of recovery during which Burkhart battled for his life against bacterial pneumonia, he lost 64 pounds of his 225-lb, 6’2” frame and developed issues with swallowing.

“One week, he almost choked to death four times in front of me,” his mother, Kim, said. “Those images are burned into my mind forever and I never want to see anyone experience such a traumatic event.”

On July 26, 2008, after 21 weeks, Burkhart was released to the care of his family. It was time to come home.

During Burkhart’s convalescence, he was never alone. His family, and his parents especially, stayed by his side as he received therapy in Evansville, Chicago, Bloomington, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

Speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational, therapeutic riding and hyperbaric oxygen therapies, the Burkhart family kept their faith and held onto the hope he would make a full recovery.

“That left my other two children, Evan and Jenae, at home alone a lot,” Burkhart said. “They were in their junior and senior years of high school. Local police officers, friends and family all helped out, I don’t know what we would have done without everyone’s help.”

In addition to the assistance of family and friends, several prayer groups prayed over Burkhart for healing.

“Area churches sent money and put Travis on their prayer lists. So many friends and family brought us food and money, the outpouring of love for us was incredible,” Burkhart added. “God is using Travis to bring glory to His name through this journey. Each day we wake up is a blessing, and we pray this will be the day God has chosen to heal Travis. But we know that just because it didn’t happen today doesn’t mean it won’t happen tomorrow.”

Lifted up by the compassion and support of others, the Burkhart family counted their many blessings and looked around to find others who needed help.

“We have been extremely blessed by so many who have helped in Travis’ journey through this tragedy,” Burkhart said. “Many people prayed, gave money, watched our other children and helped us in so many ways, volunteered at TBF events to raise money and use it to help others, locally and in the surrounding communities. We are committed to helping others in times of crisis due to a sudden illness, injury or lifetime diagnosis that takes them away from home for an extended period of time for recovery or therapy.”

The Burkhart family and the Travis Burkhart Foundation are devoted to “paying it forward,” turning their tragedy into compassion and love for people who often feel hopeless and scared and don’t know which way to turn.

Kim, Travis and Mike Burkhart at a recent outing in Linton.

“We have felt and have been given incredible support in the days and years since Travis’ accident,” Burkhart said. “The prayers, love and support helped us through those times. The Travis Burkhart Foundation is our way of giving back and paying that kindness forward. We want as many families as possible to feel the support that we did.”

One unique offering by the TBF is a new iPad, given by the foundation to families dealing with autism and other patients who may benefit from the use of one.

The TBF distributes a bound book bursting with advice, resources, inspirational quotes and bible passages, hope and practical, necessary advice for families who suddenly find themselves in the midst of a confusing and frightening medical diagnosis.

The book covers everything, from first steps after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), tips on how to navigate social security disability, Medicaid and guardianship, a glossary of medical terms and pages to keep track of medical information, blood pressure and temperature, medications, surgeries and procedures, major medical events, questions for the doctor and blank pages for notes and lists.

The nonprofit TBF raises funds through benefit events, donations and sponsorships.

Regular/ annual events include TBF Day at the Park at Busch Stadium in St. Louis for the Cardinals Baseball Outing, the annual TBF Golf Scramble, a popular event in its 14th year that will be held August 6, the annual Travis Burkhart Foundation Ride for Recovery Poker Run at Plainville Park, now in its 8th year, the “100 Men Who Cook/100 Cooks Who Care event at Highland Woods Community Center, an ongoing Tupperware fundraiser and the TBF Anytime Fitness Powerlifting competition.

With Jase Robertson of Duck Dynasty.

In addition to fundraising events, TBF helps others with funds given by various donors, event sponsors and by offering one-year, multilevel sponsorships.

The Foundation is overseen by a 12-person board of directors who all volunteer their time and energy. The board is made up of Founder Travis Burkhart, President Evan Burkhart, Vice President Tyler Seibert, Immediate Past President Abby Brown, Treasurer Mike Burkhart, Secretary Kim Burkhart and Board Members Jenae Burkhart, Jason Omer, Duncan Myers, Jay R. Crew, Dave Brown and Katie Bickett-Burkhart, all of whom review individual requests for assistance, approving or denying on a case-by-case basis.

With Jules Jeptha Robertson of Duck Dynasty.

TBF will help an individual once every 30 days, and requests for assistance must be completed by someone other than the person needing assistance, such as a friend, family member or caregiver.

Over the years, the Burkharts have created a network of sorts, made up of farmers in other states Mike Burkhart met while manning a booth at various farm auctions to exchange information with fellow farmers and, at the same time, spread the word about Travis and the Travis Burkhart Foundation. Burkhart said one group of farmers held an auction exclusively to benefit the foundation, sending a check for $46,000.

“That really helps us to help more people, and that’s what we’re here for,” Mike said.

In Nebraska, a group held a benefit golf scramble for the foundation.

“We were farmers for a long time, until it got just real competitive,” Burkhart said. “We wound up losing our farm but we had a little convenience store in Plainville.”

One day, Mike Burkhart discovered Tik Tok, and took to it like a duck to water, creating “FarmTok,” where the motto is “We can do better.” On his Tik Tok, Burkhart dispenses farming advice and conversation while upholding his core values of faith, family, friends and farming.

Burkhart with his buddy, Tim Tebow.

Kim Burkhart has been active for years with Tim Tebow’s “Night to Shine,” a prom-like event for people with special needs. The event has been virtual for the last couple of years, but Burkhart hopes to put together a less formal, more picnic-like event this summer with the help of Bethany Christian Church in Daviess County.

It was through the Night to Shine connection Travis Burkhart became fast friends with Tim Tebow, even visiting him and his wife, 2017 Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Tebow, at home.

“He nudged Tim and told him not to worry, he wouldn’t take his wife away from him,” Mike related.

Burkhart poses at an event with Tebow.

Always smiling, Travis says he has a large collection of swag from his celebrity friends, who send him basically whatever he asks for.

With two Duck Dynasty wives.

Mike shares photos of Travis with Tebow, Gary LeVox from Rascal Flatts, several of the Duck Dynasty wives and Jules and Jase Robertson from Duck Dynasty.

Travis is the star of the TBF, his smiling visage bringing joy to any place he goes. He loves the attention, loves a good hug and seems to bask in the company of family and friends.

From Tebow’s Twitter feed.

There’s no denying his story is an inspiration to all and, to the people assisted by the foundation, he is a hero.

“We look to help those that are going through struggles due to an illness, injury or diagnosis,” the foundation’s website states. “We provide support in the form of monetary aid, food and information. We know all too well that bills and expenses can quickly stack up and the monetary aid or even something simple like meals can help alleviate the strain. We have seen a lot, been through a lot, and we want to share the information we have gained along the way. We help those in our area that have encountered hardship due to an unforeseen illness, accident or diagnosis and need a little assistance. We look to help those that are going through a difficult medical circumstance and we try and pick up where insurance ends. All proceeds come from donors, sponsors, grants and profits from the annual events we hold. With our event staff and board members all being volunteers this allows us to maximize our profits. All net profits go to assistance requests.”

Initially, TBF reached out only to those affected by TBI, but soon found that to be a group too limited in size, and started to reach out to cancer patients. They found plenty of those.

In Daviess County, the group reached out to Daviess Community Hospital, partnering with the Oncology Center to offer their help to a broader audience. TBF has such connections at many area medical centers, but have no such partnership yet in Greene County.

With Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts.

“We have reached out to the hospital in Linton, but they haven’t responded,” Burkhart said. “We’re hoping they will. Any Greene County health provider will do, so if any of them are reading this, give us a call. We actually help many people who live in Greene County and get treatment in Terre Haute but it would be wonderful to be able to help more people in the area. One way is just by telling our story and asking others to tell it to make more people aware that we exist.”

More information, as well as the application for assistance, can be found at www.travisburkhartfoundation.org.

The foundation can also be reached on social media, by email at travisburkhartfoundation@gmail.com by mail at 10274 N 200 E

Plainville, IN 47568 or by calling 812-257-4492.