It’s not even primarily about illness.

At its heart, it is about what happens when friendship becomes family and family becomes action.

They began as neighbors.

Then they became friends.

Then they began calling each other grandmother and grandson.

When Norma became too ill to safely live alone, Chris didn’t allow that relationship to end simply because her circumstances had changed.

He opened his home.

He made room for her.

He brought her into his daily life.

He kept her cat with her.

And most importantly, he made sure she did not have to face the end of her life alone.

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The Bottom Line

At 31, Chris Salvatore could have seen Norma Cook’s declining health as a situation beyond his responsibility.

Instead, he chose to help.

The two had lived across the hall from each other in West Hollywood for years and had developed such a close bond that Chris called Norma his “adopted grandma,” while Norma called him the “grandson she never had.”