Like I stated initially, the shaft is collapsed. No fixing that, it's junk. I mean, it will steer the car but without the shear pins intact, the shaft will not have the correct impact absorption in case of a frontal crash. Just be aware that a hard enough crash and you could potentially get speared with the shaft since now there's nothing to stop it from becoming a projectile, right? I'm no engineer so I have to trust the guys who designed this stupid crap had our best interest in mind.
I've read driving around with a collapsed shaft can wear the coupler shoes out fast because the lower shaft will want to move farther down into the coupler but I have no way to corroborate that. Not trying to be officer goody two-shoes here or scare you, just stating facts, ma'am.
If it were me, I'd try to replace the shaft with a good one or at least put something back in there to keep it from moving, like epoxy or small nylon pins. If you can keep it stationary, the lock collar and spring will work properly, provided you line up the two column halves to where they were originally.