Dottie Rambo: The Gifted Songwriter of the Twentieth Century (Part 21)

This is My Father's World



God's House of Rest



I Call Him Lord



He Brought Me Through



Which Road Leads to Heaven



New Shoes



Sailing Toward Home



Somebody Stepped on Board



We're That Generation



Following the botched up back surgery that was performed on Dottie, she was in back pain for a number of years.  The surgeon was supposed to only cut three nerves.  He instead cut 136 nerves.  As a result, part of her body was in a cast.  She was paralyzed on her left side of the body.  The pain was worse than ever.  For the next few years she had at least nine or ten back surgeries to correct the problems from the botched surgery, supposedly to no avail.  The future looked bleak for Dottie.  It didn't appear there ever would be a chance for her to sing once again in public.  As a result of all the pain she experienced, she made very few public appearances the next several years. 

After all the failed back surgeries, Dottie and Buck finally went to a neurologist named Dr. Reginald Davis from Baltimore, Maryland.  Dr. Davis was a black surgeon and a Christian.  Dottie asked for Dr. Davis to snap a photo of Dottie wrapped around like a coil.  He did so.  Her back was mutilated.  All the nerves that were cut to supposedly deaden the pain from a previous surgery wrapped themselves together and they attached themselves to her spine.  As a result, her leg felt like it was burning.  It was a miracle that she was ever able to walk again.  Dr. Davis told her that he could perform surgery on her but that she only had a 50-50 chance of surviving.  She talked about it with her family and they agreed to the surgery.  Before the surgery she prayed with her doctor.  Dr. Davis performed the surgery.  It didn't stop the pain, but at least she survived.  Dottie would have to deal with excruciating back pain for the next several years.

Buck and Dottie Divorce

I don't know the full story behind the final separation of Buck and Dottie Rambo, but I will say what little I do know.  In the television special "Behind the Music", which spoke of Dottie Rambo's life, said that while she was going on for surgery, she discovered that Buck was once again having an affair.  I've seen speculation on some websites that Buck ran off with their secretary.  Whether that's true or not I can't verify it.  I do know that Dottie decided she was going to end this once and for all.  She decided she had enough after Buck's unfaithfulness in years past and she wasn't going to tolerate this for the rest of her life.  So she and Buck separated in 1992 and their divorce became final in 1994.  Buck remarried not too long after he and Dottie divorced.  Dottie never remarried.  A few years later, Dottie met the man who would eventually become her business manager, Larry Ferguson, and it was through his and his wife's efforts that Dottie eventually recovered and would travel on the road once again. 

Dottie Rambo on Dove Nightline