A local 13-year-old boy is battling a rare congenital kidney condition and his family is urgently seeking a living kidney donor to save his life.

Elias Manolis is an eighth grader who loves school, his family and spending time with his newly adopted puppy, Cooper. But while most teens worry about homework and weekend plans, Elias is facing a serious medical struggle. Born with a condition that obstructs his urinary system, his kidneys have been deteriorating for months, and his overall kidney function has dropped to a dangerously low level.

Elias said a successful transplant would mean a chance at the normal childhood most kids take for granted. “If I get a new kidney, then I actually can live a normal life,” he shared, noting he often has to cut activities short because of medical complications.

When Dialysis Looms

Doctors at the Northwell Transplant Institute warn that Elias is nearing the point where he will have to begin dialysis — a time-consuming treatment that requires multiple hospital visits each week. Because he is so young, his family is focusing on finding a living donor, whose kidney generally lasts significantly longer than one from a deceased donor.

Queens Woman Charged with Kidnapping After Fleeing Barnes & Noble With Child, Tracked by Police Helicopter to Roosevelt Field Mall

A Queens woman was arrested after allegedly abducting her child during a supervised visit and was located by police helicopter at Roosevelt Field Mall.

The Third Squad reports the arrest of a Queens female for an incident that occurred on Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 1:16 pm in Carle Place.

 According to Detectives, Defendant Charlene Smith, 41, of Fresh Meadows was having supervised visitation with her 7-year-old child, at Barnes and Noble located at 91 Old Country Road when the defendant exited the premise and fled scene with the victim in an unknown direction.

After an extensive investigation, the Nassau County Police Aviation Unit Helicopter 4 located the defendant and the victim in the parking lot of the Roosevelt Field Mall and directed patrol units to the location. The defendant was placed into custody without incident.

Read more here 

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Did You Know? The house that spawned the horror book and film The Amityville Horror was built in 1927 and the original address was 112 Ocean Avenue but has since been changed to 108 Ocean Avenue to thwart lookie-loos.

Till next time,

The LongIsland.com Team