Hello Helen:
It sounds like the will died down to within the 10 inches or so from the ground as you described. Willows are not typically grown as a hybrid, so the new shoots coming from the trunk will grow into a corkscrew willow again. I you see any shoots coming from the soil, they would make a better tree than those off of the trunk.
You have most likely lost the orginal tree.
Sorry for the good/bad news.