Can "东西" refer to a person instead of thing? "我找到了我一直渴望的东西"

"I have found what I've been longing for"
"I have found who I've been longing for"

Which translation would be appropriate? Can 东西 refer to a person instead of thing in this sentence?
don't use 東西 for a person, it is for angry only and negative assessment. 他也不是個什么好東西。(he is not a good man). when you translate such statement into Chinese, you can just make sure appending a '的' at end. In Chinese '的' following a verb can be used for 'what xxx (a pronoun) yyyy (a verb)'. so 我找到了梦寐以求的。