While we were caring for my mother-in-law, who had Alzheimer's, we tried to make sure to get respite breaks now and then.
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Once a year or so my wife's sister would travel in from California (we live in Missouri) and give us a real break for a week or two. Otherwise, we made do with little breaks here and there - my wife and I giving each other time off for meetings or to run errands or whatever. And twice a month we'd have someone come in for about four hours on an afternoon so we could get out together - to just take a long walk, or have a meal out and away from the house.
When we were into the final months of my MIL's life, we had hospice care. That made a huge difference - they arranged to have someone in overnight a couple of times a week so we could get more sleep, and if we wanted we could have gotten my MIL into a care facility for a 5 day break.
But we never exercised that option - by that point, my MIL was doing poorly enough that we were afraid that there was a good chance she would die while we were taking such a break. And we just couldn't face the prospect of that - we had gone the distance in caring for her, and were psychologically committed to being with her when she passed. Which may not make a lot of sense, but that's how care-giving is, sometimes.
So, what do you do about respite care? Do you try and get a break? Do you volunteer someplace to help allow other care-givers a respite break?