Buddy Valastro Just Gave Fans An Exciting Update About His Injured Hand
The Cake Boss Buddy Valastro just shared some exciting news. It appears he's making a significant recovery after a devastating injury to his right hand last fall. Joining Rachel Ray on Wednesday, he said he's feeling good after his fifth surgery to repair the damage caused when a pinsetter in his home bowling alley malfunctioned and a metal rod impaled his hand between his middle and ring fingers (via People). On the show, he mentioned that the operation "was a huge success," and that he's able to move his hand much more than he used to.
After the gruesome accident, his hand was numb and he had limited mobility. Even after his third surgery, holding a fork was still challenging, as he noted to People at the time. But now things seem to be improving significantly. "So I can make like a whole fist," he demonstrated to Ray. "I can make all my fingers straight. And I got, I'd say, about 75 percent of my strength back, so, you know, it's coming along, but I'm still in physical therapy. You know, just doin' really well."
The stomach-churning injury seemed like something out of a horror film
The accident was apparently quite gory. When he spoke to People soon after the accident, he said, "I looked at my hand and blood was gushing everywhere. It looked like a Halloween movie." He also disclosed details to TODAY about how the machine was still moving with his hand attached to it, which (understandably) made him think he was going to pass out.
After impaling his hand three times, the rod stopped moving and his hand was stuck in the machine with the rod still impaled. In order to free him, his two teenage sons had to cut it off with a reciprocating saw. The entire incident took approximately 15 minutes, but his wife Lisa told People, "It was just chaotic. Fifteen minutes of hell."
While the road to recovery is expected to be long, and may include additional surgeries, in an interview with ET in November, Valastro was just grateful that the injury wasn't worse. "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."
TLC documented his path to health in a two-hour special, Buddy Valastro: Road to Recovery.