“ Shecalls everysingle night,” her mom Tina says to aguest.“ Do you knowofany other high school kid who does that?”

No, at least not many, but there aren’ t many girls like DiLascio, 16, whose long dark curly hair hides a small hole near the top of her head. There is a story behind that incision, and DiLascio doesn’ t mind telling it.

It includes acelebrity sighting, atrip to DisneyWorld andnow, being the lead runner for Hasbrouck Heights High School.

But for just a moment, DiLascio pauses. She has to call her grandmother when she’ s done, but for now, she’ s talking about Hydrocephalus, thecondition that could have killed her if gone untreated and thequestion she used to pose to her mother growing up.

“ Is it weird how it feels like your brain and your head is so tight? And she would say,‘ no, that’ s not how it’ s supposed to feel,’” DiLascio, ajunior says.“ I would be like,‘ OK, then.’”

These days, alot of the questions around the trackand the trail are who is that girl in orange and black for Hasbrouck Heights? DiLasciowas the leadrunner for the Aviators’ girls cross-country team and is apromising distance runner on the track team, specializing in the mile and two-mile.

“ If she improveshalf as much as she did this yearfrom last year, she willbe the bestcross-country runner we have everhad at Heights,” Aviators crosscountry coach Mike Ryan says.“ This is agirl who never thought she could be here, and now she just believesand

that’ s been the whole key.”

DiLasciohas her speech on Hydrocephalus down for when people ask, and aYouTube video about it she made with her mom. Her life motto: Don’ t complain.

“ Peoplesay I’ m always reallyhappy,” says DiLascio.

“ She really is positive, she is like the happiest, glass always half-full type,” Tina interjects.

“ That’ s reallythe only way to be,” says DiLascio.“ I don’ t understand people who are complaining all the time.”

Lookingback, the class was“ Topics in Math” and DiLascio was in sixth grade. It would be after lunch, approximately 1p. m. As the teacher was explaining the finer points of basic algebra, DiLascio would start to feel it. The pressure. The nausea. The feeling likeshe was going to vomit.

“ I wouldget home and it would followmethe rest of the day,” says DiLascio.“ It is unusualbecause people with Hydrocephalus usually feel their symptoms the most in the morning and at night. Iwas confused because it was always in the middle of the day for me.”

The feelings persistedand she went to have an MRI. She remembers it was Mother’ s Day 2012. Doctors called and said they wanted asecondMRI done. That was odd.

The diagnosis was instant. It was Hydrocephalus.

LEFT: KEVIN WEXLER; TOP: CHARLIE MCGILL / THE RECORD

32 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2017 |( 201) FAMILY

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