Buddy Valastro Shares His Recovery Journey In TLC Special

Buddy Valastro's baking career has been documented for all to see on reality TV since 2009. Much of the drama in the long-running reality series Cake Boss has revolved around creating amazing cakes to satisfy demanding customers — all while trying not to drop the cake down a flight of stairs. Valastro's next show, airing on TLC at 9 p.m. on December 23, takes the reality and the drama to a new level. We wonder if it might not be too real for some viewers.

As fans of Valastro know by now, the Cake Boss severely injured his dominant right hand in September, while attempting to fix a pinsetter at his home bowling alley (via People). The details are truly horrific, as Valastro himself related them on Today just a week after the accident. Valastro had turned his head away just for a moment, and his hand became stuck. A rod pushed through his hand at the middle and ring fingers. "And it was not a sharp object," Valastro told the Today hosts. "It was just like, blunt. It just blew out half my hand."

Valastro could only watch as the rod moved back and forth, through his hand, multiple times. "I thought I was going to faint. I looked at my hand, and there was blood everywhere." Doctors operated on Valastro's damaged hand three times, and now he is only able to do basic tasks, such as using a fork, with difficulty.

Valastro's family was with him when his hand was damaged in his freak accident. Certainly, none of them pulled out their phones to video Buddy while he was stuck. Still, the Discovery family of networks, which includes TLC, says the upcoming show "follows the dramatic events as they transpired in real-time with footage captured immediately after the incident." Discovery doesn't give the show a title in its announcement. People reports the two-hour special will be called Buddy Valastro: Road to Recovery.

Fans of the Cake Boss who make it through the cringe-worthy first part of the show will find out what it's been like for Valastro to return to work after his injury. Discovery suggests the latter part of the reality special on December 23 will have the same vibe as an old episode of Cake Boss. Orders for over-the-top cakes start to pile up, and the holidays are just around the corner. The show promises to address the biggest question for Valastro fans: Can you still be the Cake Boss if you can't make cakes?

The show that might be called Road to Recovery airs in a few weeks, but Valastro's road to recovery will continue long after that. He still doesn't know if he'll be able to return to baking. "There's part of me that wants to train lefty," Valastro told People.