An Avery, Texas, woman said that facing a terminal diagnosis has not swayed their belief that God has a plan for her.
“We believed in blessings. And we believe in healing. We believe that even though the doctors say it’s terminal, that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t have a plan. My husband’s favorite saying is, ‘God’s will, God’s plan and God’s time,” said Penny Seggerman.
Fifty-six year old Seggerman was diagnosed with stage four adenocarcinoma in her lung in November 2024. The diagnosis is terminal but doctors have not specified a timeline.
“Maybe it will be a year, maybe it will be four,” she said. “We just take it one day at a time … I want to keep living while I can and enjoy what time I have left.”
It began in the lungs and has metastasized to her breast tissue and other areas in her body, she added.
Seggerman and her husband Greg have been married for 34 years and lived in Avery for 30 years. Seggerman was the recipient of the annual donation by DeKalb Physician’s Clinic from the October sales of their breast cancer awareness t-shirts.
“We were truly blessed … It came when we didn’t know how we were going to pay our medical insurance and we didn’t know how we were going to pay our house insurance,” she said.
Since Seggerman’s diagnosis, the couple have faced a bit of a financial burden. Before she was diagnosed, Seggerman said she worked full-time. The effects of chemotherapy and other medical complications have forced her into an early retirement.
She has also had several stays in the hospital with blood infections. She said doctors are withholding chemotherapy treatment for at least two months so her body can heal from her latest bout with a staff infection.
Greg Seggerman is facing back surgery and working has been hard on him as well.
“Financially it’s hurt us a lot. But we’re doing better now. We’ve been blessed,” she said. “We’re trying to adjust.”
Seggerman said her family has helped her get through the hurdles of treatment.
“I’ve got to say, my family has really stood beside me,” she said. “My daughter (Maryssa) is a godsend. She is with me every step of the way. She makes all my appointments and everything. My husband, too. He has not missed a chemo, even when I was having to go dowthere and sit for nine hours a day.”
Seggerman said that while treatment takes a lot out of her, she still gets out in her flowerbed and plants her favorite flowers. “My garden didn’t look too hot this year, but I did plant a few flowers. I like to plant flowers outside,” she said. To anyone facing a similar circumstance, Seggerman has a bit of advice.
“Keep the faith. And it’s okay not to be okay sometimes. I have learned that it’s okay not to be okay because, at first, I tried to be strong, strong, strong and I was just wearing myself down … Everybody’s journey is different,” she said.
