I would like to nominate Fynn Bickert, our physical therapist from Germany, as the Apex Care Professional of the Year for 2026. There are so many reasons why Fynn is deserving of this award, it will be hard to fit them all in this submission. I will do my best to do justice to what a wonderful addition he has been to our family since his arrival.
I have 2 special needs kids who are VERY different from each other. My older son, Jacob, is an introverted 12 year old. He is obsessed with YouTube videos, video games, and all manner of screentime activities. If he is not watching, he generally prefers solo activities such as puzzling or reading. He is also quite underweight, and the pediatrician has indicated that this has been a point of concern for several years. Fynn spent the first couple of months being very respectful of Jacob’s boundaries while still maintaining his caregiver status. However, as time went on, Jacob became more comfortable with Fynn. I see Fynn getting Jacob engaged in board games with his brother, they are doing “gym sessions” together, and Fynn regularly convinces Jacob to have a second dinner to help with our weight gain goals for Jacob. This is the tip of the iceberg in terms of Fynn’s engagement, though. He found topics that interested Jacob and used them as a bouncing board to add more – not an easy task! They have found a mutual interest in animation, in worlds of fantasy and adventure, Greek mythology…and he uses these interests to help Jacob come out of his shell a little bit and engage with Fynn, our family, and the world around him. We recently attended an overwhelming party where Fynn noticed that Jacob was struggling, and soon thereafter, I found them in a quiet corner playing pool (billiards) together, and then Jacob’s cousins joined them, and they had a fun, smaller circle within the space of a big party.
My younger son, Shai, who just turned 8, is as different from Jacob as you could possibly imagine. Shai is an extreme extrovert; he is constantly seeking attention and stimulation and a level of engagement that can be quite draining. Shai can also be demanding and volatile in terms of having very big feelings over seemingly small stressors. Fynn has shown an incredible amount of patience in terms of engaging with Shai’s relentless desire for play, and he uses his physical therapy background to help Shai channel his energy into healthy physical outlets, which has greatly reduced the amount and severity of tantrums.
While I am happy to go on and on regarding the practical improvements we have seen in our kids since Fynn became a member of our family, our belief that he is the Apex Caregiver of the Year goes so much further than that. He seems to welcome every day with fantastic energy and positivity. Fynn really embodies his career as a physical therapist; he has joined a local gym, and he consistently sets a good example to our family of persistence in health goals, including gym and healthy eating, which has inspired our whole family to eat better and work a little harder on our own goals. He has amazing instincts regarding what a situation requires, lending support in whatever way he can, without being asked. He is flexible with the schedule when an illness or last-minute work call pops up on the calendar, he provides thoughtful guidance and input during our family meetings, and he takes the initiative and is proactive in terms of his physical therapy time with the kids. His work ethic is phenomenal, and he brings joy and laughter into our home every day when he shows up, whether he is starting early in the morning or in the middle of the afternoon. Our family and our home has greatly benefited from Fynn’s mere presence, and I cannot think of a more worthy candidate for this award.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Natalia Traficante
On Behalf of the Traficante Family
