"Cake Boss" star Buddy Valastro shared a photo of himself Wednesday recovering in a hospital bed with a bandaged arm after what he described as a "terrible accident."
"I was involved in a terrible accident a few days ago...What do you think of my new accessory?" Valastro wrote on Instagram, referring to his bandaged right arm and hand as his "iron fist."
"I had a really bad accident the other day at my house with my hand. ... I just wanted to thank you guys for all the love and support, and we're going to get through this together," he said in a video in his Instagram stories.
Valastro didn't go into details about his accident, but a spokeswoman for Carlo's Bakery told TODAY Food he suffered the gruesome injury while bowling.
“Buddy was spending some quality time on Sunday bowling with his family,” the spokesperson said. "There was a malfunction with the bowling pinsetter, a common fix in the past, but (it) turned into a terrible accident. After trying to release the bowling pin from the cage mechanism, his right hand became lodged and compressed inside the unit.”
Valastro's hand was stuck and he had to watch a metal rod "slowly and repeatedly impale his hand three times between his ring finger and middle finger," the spokesperson said. Valastro's sons, Buddy Jr. and Marco, rushed to the garage to find a saw to cut through the rod and help their father remove his hand from the machine.
The baker underwent emergency surgery Sunday to remove the rod from his hand and help stabilize his wound. That was followed by another operation with an orthopedic surgeon, Monan told the outlet.
“It will be an uphill battle as it’s Buddy’s dominant right hand and he will need prolonged recovery and therapy,” Valastro's spokesperson said.
Valastro's fans and colleagues sent their well wishes over Instagram as he starts what he called his "#recoveryjourney."
"Those hands are a national treasure and so are you! Get well soon," wrote Alex Guarnaschelli.
"Get better homie," wrote Duff Goldman. "You're gonna need that hand."
Editor's note (Sept. 23, 2020): This story has been updated with a statement from a spokesperson for Valastro.