Hi there! My name is Dawn McVey and I’ve been creating things since I was little, with a deep love for paper and pens for as long as I can remember! I’ve been making cards since 2006 or 07. I started my blog in 2007 and started submitting my work to magazines and went on to have over 100 projects published in various paper-crafting magazines, back when those were popular and still being published.
I worked for ten years from home as a graphic designer, designing my own line of paper crafting products that were sold online. At the beginning of 2020, I started working as a full-time artist out of my home art studio, painting colorful florals and other subject matter using acrylic paints on canvas, ceramic ornaments and more. My artwork can be purchased online at DawnMcVey.com. It is such a joy to be able to create every day, and share the joy of those colorful works of art with others.
In 2008, I began to be sick off and on and that progressed over the years until I was extremely sick every day. After years of bouncing around from one local doctor to the next as they tried to diagnose my illness, I was eventually referred to Mayo Clinic in 2014 (the same year my husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer)! The doctors at Mayo quickly determined that my immune system had created three antibodies that had attacked the nerves in my own small intestine, causing it to not push food through properly, resulting in debilitating symptoms. There was no cure for the problem, however they tried everything they could think of to simply treat the symptoms. In 2016, they referred me to Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. for a small intestine transplant — a very rare surgery that they don’t even do at Mayo Clinic. I was on IV nutrition for a year and a half, during which time, I became unable to eat any food at all, and went five and a half months without eating a single bite of food. After more testing in D.C. and after trying all other options Mayo could think of, we finally decided to move forward with the transplant. We went on the wait list in July of 2017 and three months later, we received THE CALL on October 27, 2017 at 3am, telling us there was an organ available for me if we wanted it. We felt like the Lord was prompting us to GO, so we said yes and 24 hours later, they began my transplant surgery! I lived in D.C. for 4-1/2 months after the surgery, in order to be close to the hospital and we were thrilled when they finally gave us the all-clear to come back home to Kansas City.
I’m thrilled to report that now, nearly 8 years later, I’m healthy and able to eat all the things again! I’ve experienced so much joy over feeling so well! And not only that, but my husband, Bart, has also been healthy and completely cancer-free since his surgery in 2014!
God has blessed us abundantly with health, He’s given me a job that I love and a wonderful husband who encourages me to follow my dreams! Bart is my best friend and I’m so grateful to get to share each day with him.
It’s a wonderful life and I’m so, so thankful. The Lord has brought me FAR!!!