While caring for our Mama when she had dementia, it didn’t take too long to realize that sleeping through the night was becoming a faint memory. It was perfectly normal for Mama to get up a few times each night to use the restroom, and my husband and I took turns getting up with her to make sure she didn’t get lost in the process.
A bell hung on her door jangled each time it was opened to alert us. It wasn’t too loud, but Mama’s room was close enough to ours so one of us could hear it.
After a while, the lack of sleep began to take its toll on us. We discovered a small care home that would take in temporary clients so we could get a night or two of uninterrupted sleep and be ready to welcome Mama back. Our experience with respite care made a world of difference.
