Navy Veteran Patrick Jones speaks after an accident left him in a wheelchair: He shares how baking strengthens his arms and legs, Check out his homemade desserts

My Godbrother Navy Veteran Patrick Jones pushes himself daily and continues to inspire others.

Eight months ago on October 8, 2019, I published his first article Navy Veteran Patrick Jones speaks after an accident left him in a wheelchair: He keeps the faith and believes he will run again in the Crim Festival of Races

Today is June 8, 2020, and I would like to give Patrick (Pat) a shout-out on his birthday. Since today is Patrick’s birthday, I thought it would be the perfect day to show his homemade desserts. He continues with his daily physical-occupational therapy and bakes homemade desserts every Sunday.

Patrick shares how baking strengthens his arms and legs.

According to Patrick “I have been cooking my whole life, but I didn’t start baking again until after my injury and once I returned home from my hospital stay. I found baking pans and trays to be easier to handle than pots and pans, so I whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

Though I didn’t know it at the time, baking has been an excellent form of therapy. Standing over a mixing bowl has helped increase the strength and stability in my lower extremities as well as helping with my overall body awareness. Mixing wet and dry ingredients by hand has developed the fine and gross motor skills in my hands, arms and shoulders.

Overall I would say, the biggest thing I have gotten from baking is confidence. I’ve learned in the past 18 months that the body has an amazing way of relearning (neuroplasticity) how to accomplish tasks that were once thought to be lost.

After that first batch of cookies, I got the thumbs up from my in-house tester (my son Jalen) it was on to chocolate cakes, bread pudding, lemon icebox pie, and banana split pie.

Although baking is more science than art, there are no rules to what the mind can imagine and bake up. I find therapy the same way, as long as you are making an effort to move and stay active there is no limit to ones possibilities of mental and physical recovery.”

Check out his homemade desserts.