Off The Record
An 89-Year-Old Woman Had No One Around Her In The Last Days Of Her Life, Until One Man Stepped In
I know when I was moving in my new apartment, most of the neighbours were j**ks. They weren’t kind with us at all, nor with the workers that used to renovate my apartment.
But this touching story is about a man (far different than my neigbors) who was there for a woman he barely knew. In fact, when Norma Cook, an 85-year-old woman had no one to take care of her in the last years of her life, Chris Salvatore, her neigbor, asked her to move in with him. I wish I had a neigbor like him…
When Norma turned 89, her health started to deteriorate. She was in the hospital, but Cook wasn’t able to return home unless she had constant care. When no one was there for her from her family, that’s when Salvatore did stepped in…
Salvatore took to the internet and set up a GoFundMe for Cook. It didn’t take much for the two to become best friends. As soon as they did, Salvatore took another step further.
“The only other option was for her to go into a facility,” he told TODAY. “I just couldn’t do that to someone who is like my own grandmother.”
He invited her to move into his apartment.
“I’m so happy I was able to give her this gift of living her last days at home,” Salvatore told GoFundMe. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to go through the end of your life at a hospital without your friends or pets.”
The two became matching roommates!
“We always watch the news,” Cook told TODAY. “We mostly talk and drink Champagne and eat peanuts.”
Norma Cook couldn’t ask for a better farewell than the last years of her life. Sadly on February 15, 2017 Cook passed away. Salvatore shared the heartbreaking news on Instagram.
In the caption along with the beautiful picture of her Salvatore wrote: “It’s with a heavy heart that I share the news that earlier this morning the world lost a truly inspiring, beautiful woman. Norma is now resting peacefully in the eternal and while she may no longer physically be with us, her spirit will continue to fill the hearts of so many people. Perhaps Norma’s lasting legacy is that her story helped the world to see the true meaning of love. Norma reminded me that we all are created to love and all desire to be loved. This year Norma has reminded us what Valentine’s Day is all about. To love another is not about living struggle free or never experiencing hurt or loss, but to fully and deeply open our hearts to one another without fear. Each of us is lovable even with all of our differences. Love has no boundaries. May you rest in peace my sweet sweet lady, Norma. ❤️”
“She called me the grandson she never had,” Salvatore said of Cook.
No one forced this young man to help, but he did it anyway. He didn’t want to see her spend the last days in a hospital with no one around her.
Please make sure to SHARE this article if you think we should all be a little more like Salvatore.
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