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Chris Salvatore and Norma Cook met four years ago, when Salvatore moved into Cook’s apartment complex. He remembers in his first days there, that she’d wave out her kitchen window at him, just to say hello.
“One day I said, ‘Can I come in and chat?’ Because she just seemed so sweet,” Salvatore recalls. “She offered me a glass of champagne, and it was like this immediate friendship.”
Salvatore is 31; Cook is 89. But the two quickly became inseparable, calling each other their respective best friend and spending hours together just hanging out, chatting, and playing with Cook’s cat, Hermes.
It wasn’t long until Salvatore learned that Cook had been diagnosed with leukemia almost ten years ago, but it didn’t change their friendship at all.
In fact, when Cook’s health suddenly took a turn for the worse in the past year, Salvatore stepped in, truly earning his title as the grandson Cook never had.
She’d divorced when she was 43 and never remarried, nor had any kids. There was no one around to take care of her, even in her final few months, and she wanted nothing more than to be able to live out the rest of her days in the comfort of her own home.
Cook was told by her doctor that she wasn’t allowed to go home unless she had 24-hour home care – which is what Salvatore offered to provide for her.
He immediately started a GoFundMe page to raise money for all the equipment and supplies he would need to take proper care of Cook in his apartment. (The fundraiser is still open, if you can donate anything to help.) In less than a month, he’d raised over $30,000 from the Internet alone.
“Being her best friend for the past four years, you create this bond, and then switching to being someone’s caregiver, well it becomes hard to disassociate the emotional bond you have with someone as you’re seeing them die in front of your eyes,” Salvatore explained. But he’s determined to stay strong, for Cook, until she parts.
“I’m so lucky to have her. She’s changed my life. she’s made me a kinder more compassionate person. I feel honored to spend her last moments with her.”
You can watch an interview of Salvatore talking about Cook here:
