Actor Chris Salvatore and his neighbor, Norma Cook, have been friends for almost five years after Salvatore moved in across the hall. But when Cook, who was diagnosed with leukemia, became seriously ill, Salvatore moved her into his apartment (along with her cat), and they became roommates.
After Cook was put in the hospital for two months, doctors told her that she couldn't go home unless she had 24-hour care, which wasn't covered by her insurance. Salvatore set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for his neighbor and friend, but as they began testing caregivers, the money quickly dwindled. To cut costs, he invited her to move into his apartment instead.
"She called me the grandson she never had," Salvatore told TODAY. "She couldn't be happier that I asked. I was over there visiting most days anyway."
"The only other option was for her to go into a facility," he continued. "I just couldn't do that to someone who is like my own grandmother."
The two also told TODAY that they've developed a routine, in which Salvatore cooks for her and they watch the news and drink champagne.
"If he can't make it as an actor, he can make it as a chef," she joked.
Cook, who has no children or close family in California, first offered Salvatore a glass of champagne when he knocked on her door five years ago after months of saying hello through their kitchen windows.
"She offered me a glass of Champagne — it's her favorite drink — and we just sat down and talked," Salvatore told TODAY. "We connected right away. Back when she was a young adult, she had a lot of friends who were gay, and I'm also gay, so I think it made her feel safe at home and at peace to sort of have that bond again."
"Moving her in... it feels as though it was meant to be all along," he said. "It's really fulfilling to be there for her."