Buddy Valastro, 44, is filled with gratitude one year after an accident at his home bowling alley crushed his hand, leaving it severely injured. The Cake Boss star gave chef Rachael Ray an update on the status of his hand after five reconstructive surgeries on a new episode of The Rachael Ray Show, which will air in full on Sept. 20. In PEOPLE‘s sneak peek of the show, which can be seen above, he revealed that the injury is “95 percent” healed.
“I say we’re about 95% [healed] — which if that’s as good as it’s going to get, Rachael, I’ll take it,” he said while speaking to Rachael through a video on the episode.
The tough year was documented in a TLC special called Buddy Valastro: Road to Recovery and despite the long healing process, Buddy continued filming his Food Network and discovery+ show with Duff Goldman, Buddy vs. Duff.
“It’s definitely been an amazing ride,” he further told Rachael. “The fact that I was able to still do what I love, like doing that last seasons of Buddy vs. Duff, it was amazing because of the fact that I could still do it.”
“You know, once you get over a certain age, 95%, we’ll take it for anything,” she joked with him after he gave her the update. “Our memory, our body, our back — if we’re at 95%, we’re good.”
Buddy’s hand injury happened when he was spending time at home with his family on Sept. 20, 2020. His bowling alley pinsetter malfunctioned and when he tried to fix the issue, his right hand became lodged in the machine, leading to a metal rod coming down and into the upper middle section of his hand three times. He shared the news on Instagram along with a photo of him sitting in a hospital bed with his hand wrapped and received numerous support from family, friends, and fans.
Of all the people who stuck by his side during the traumatizing time, Buddy credits his wife Lisa and their four children, including daughter Sofia, 17, and sons Buddy Jr., 16, Marco, 13, and Carlo, 10, for helping him the most. “They definitely stepped up to the plate,” he told Entertainment Tonight in July. “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.”