It has been almost exactly one year since Buddy Valastro severely injured his hand in a freak accident.
But nowadays the Cake Boss star is nearly fully recovered.
Speaking on the Rachael Ray Show, the TLC star, 44, was happy to report he was ‘about 95% healed’.
On the mend! Buddy Valastro revealed he is ‘about 95% healed’ a year after a freak accident injured his hand
‘Which if that’s as good as it’s going to get Rachael, I’ll take it,’ Buddy added.
‘It’s definitely been an amazing ride,’ he continued. ‘The fact that I’m able to still do what I love, like doing that last season of Buddy vs. Duff, it was amazing because of the fact that I could still do it.’
Buddy injured his right hand at his home bowling alley in September 20, 2020, after a pinsetter malfunctioned, trapping his hand inside the unit as he tried to release the bowling pin from the cage mechanism.
A one-and-a-half inch metal rod pierced his hand three times between his ring finger and his middle finger.
‘I’ll take it’: Buddy was more than happy with all the progress he had made in his recovery
Horrific: Buddy injured his right hand at his home bowling alley in September 2020, after a pinsetter malfunctioned, trapping his hand inside the unit as he tried to release the bowling pin from the cage mechanism
Ouch: His sons Buddy Jr., then 16, and Marco, then 13, had to use a saw to free their father from the machine and he was hospitalized for treatment
His sons Buddy Jr., then 16, and Marco, then 13, had to use a saw to free their father from the machine and he was hospitalized for treatment.
The TLC star has undergone numerous surgeries since then, and in July revealed he had yet to regain full use of his middle finger since the accident.
‘I can’t move it over to the left,’ the Cake Boss star explained while co-hosting ET. ‘I have a large gap right there, but I have the strength. I can’t lift my middle finger all the way up.’
Long road to recovery: Valastro said in July that he still doesn’t have full use of the middle finger on his right hand after suffering a devastating injury at his home
The New Jersey native shared that he will have a sixth surgery in September to try and regain full use of the finger.
Buddy acknowledged that it’s been ‘a long, long journey’ to recovery after suffering the potentially career-ending injury.
He explained that he hadn’t been sure if he would be able to make another season of his cake decorating show because of his injury.
Hospitalized: Valastro’s hand was pierced three times with a metal rod after it got trapped in a pinsetter at his home bowling alley in September 2020 (pictured November 2020)
Career-threatening injury: The Cake Boss star revealed he will undergo a sixth surgery in September
‘I knew I could do a lot more with my hand, but doing fine details or doing some crazy piping or different molding and shaping, you don’t really know until you are in it,’ he shared.
‘But I could tell you and you could see it on the show, we have done some of the best cakes we have ever did. So thank god that we did and thank god for my surgeons.
He also shared that the support he received from his family was amazing and helped him to keep going when he wondered if he’d ever be able to work again.’
‘I knew I could do a lot more with my hand, but doing fine details or doing some crazy piping or different molding and shaping, you don’t really know until you are in it,’ he shared Wednesday
‘They definitely stepped up to the plate,’ Valastro said of his wife Lisa and their four children.
‘In times of crisis, you don’t know what people’s reactions are going to be. ‘How are we going to do this?’ ‘What are we going to do?’ We all came together and I am so proud of my boys and thankful to my whole family,’ he shared.
Back in November last year, Buddy had remained optimistic as he struggled to regain the use of his right hand.
He told ET at the time: ‘I still have my hand right. I could’ve lost fingers and could’ve went through my wrist and been a lot worse. So, I’m taking it day by day and cake by cake.’
Buddy also said that the support he received from his family was amazing. ‘They definitely stepped up to the plate,’ Valastro said of his wife Lisa and their four children