All aboard! High school student in need of kidney transplant fulfills dream on LIRR
ISLIP, Long Island (WABC) -- A high school junior in desperate need of a kidney transplant spent the day getting a taste of his dream job.
Malik Ellis, 18, has always loved trains. His parents say he sleeps, eats and dreams of operating them one day.
On Monday, that is exactly what he did and the LIRR treated the Islip High School student like a VIP -- he got to ride the rails, meet personnel and even took the reigns of a LIRR train.
"I got to do what I really wanted to do since I was 2 years old, it's amazing," Ellis said. "It was like a nice start to my dream job."
The LIRR learned about his love of trains and his need for a transplant through a video posted on YouTube.
Ellis was born with Prune-Belly syndrome and his parents were told he wouldn't live past 3 months. He's now 18, thanks in part to his sister who gave him his first kidney.
Now, despite his need for a new kidney, he and his family are simply grateful to the LIRR for the great distraction for a day.
"We have hope and faith in God that something will work out soon and he can live a life and work for the Long Island Rail Road," his mother Nicole Paul said.
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