Junior Megan Delong has battled eczema since a young age and has recently been diagnosed with alopecia areata.

Eczema is a skin condition that inflames or irritates the skin and causes red, itchy, rashes. Alopecia areata is the sudden loss of hair that starts with circular bald patches that may overlap.

Delong has had eczema since she was born and has continued to deal with it throughout her life.

“It didn’t really make my life hard,” Delong said. “But I was always scared to wear any tank tops, bathing suits, short sleeved shirts, or anything that showed my skin.”

Delong enjoys swimming, reading, sleeping, and eating in her free time.

“I don’t really do much,” Delong comically said.

Delong’s eczema almost stopped her from being introduced to one of her favorite hobbies.

“I was really scared to do swim my freshman year,” Delong said. “I thought people would ask about my skin, saying what happened, or people asking if I had cancer.”

Despite her fears, Delong became a member of Kearsley’s girls swim team her freshman year.

Delong returned to the team her sophomore year but not her junior year due to her alopecia areata.

“The only thing that stopped me from swimming my junior year was that my hair was falling out,” Delong said. “It had started falling out at the end of sophomore year.”

This had happened to Delong once before when she was younger.

“I lost my hair in fourth grade and it grew back in sixth grade. Then I lost it again in 10th grade,” Delong said.

The first time this happened, Delong and her family did not know why it was happening.

Delong believed that it was just stress causing her to lose her hair, but later the doctor diagnosed her.

“We went to the doctor’s office and he told us I had alopecia areata,” Delong said. “I had to get like 20 shots — at least it felt like it — on the left side of my head and around my ear to see if the medicine would help my hair grow.”

Even though she could not be a part of the swim team, Delong continues to dedicate her time to the sport. She is now the team manager of Kearsley’s girls and boys swim teams, along with Davison’s boys swim team, and helps out with Armstrong Middle School’s co-ed swim team.

Delong plans to return to the swim team her senior year.

Despite her condition, Delong leads a pretty “normal” life, only needing to take a small amount of precautions other teens may not need to take.

“I have to make sure my skin isn’t dry because then it would crack, be red, and very itchy,” Delong said.”For my head on the other hand, I always have my hat, and I have to make sure it doesn’t fall off during school and that it’s always washed. I always have to make sure my head is moisturized because it gets very dry and itchy.”

It may seem like a lot of work to others, but Delong said she’s “used to it.”

Having her parents, Mr. Carl and Mrs. Sandy Delong, and her sister, Jennifer Delong, has helped Delong throughout the years. However, having her best friend McKenna McDonald, a freshman at Davison, has helped her out the most.

“McKenna made me feel better about myself,” Delong said. “She was always there for me when I needed someone to talk to.”

The support between McDonald and Delong goes both ways.

“She always cheers me up when I am sad, and that makes her a better person,” McDonald said.

Delong and McDonald have been friends since a young age and “just clicked,” according to Delong.

“We became friends because of our dads,” McDonald said. “They were best friends too. When we were younger we always hung out, and I guess we just knew that we were best friends.”

Delong’s older sister, Jennifer, and McDonald admire Megan’s determination.

“Megan has always inspired me to do better and that nothing can bring me down,” McDonald said.

With friends and family by her side, Delong continues to courageously fight through her medical conditions.

When going through a rough time, Delong would always tell herself, “Push through it. It will pass and get better.”