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She sleeps all day normally and I do have a baby monitor in the bedroom so I can check in on her.

Just hire a caregiver to stay with your wife for 4 hours a couple days a week so you can go out in peace. What if you hear her get up on the baby monitor and yell for you while you're out? It's not like you can transport yourself back home in 2 seconds flat.

You deserve some free time too, don't you? Maybe go get a beer with a buddy, caregiving is exhausting work.

Good luck to you.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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Technically you should not leave her alone.
the one time that you leave her if there is an emergency what would she do?
the one time you leave her alone and she decides to go get the mail...and gets lost.
the one time you leave her alone she decides to run the dishwasher...and puts liquid soap in...
the one time you decide to leave her alone and you get into an accident......

I could go on and on but you get the point.
Now I am willing to bet that everyone that is or has been a caregiver has left their LO alone at some point and nothing happened.
It is always the What If's that get ya.

Now for some ideas.
Is she eligible for Hospice? If so you could request a Volunteer 1 time a week and one could come 3 to 4 hours and you can get out for a bit. They can do no "hands on" care.
You could hire a caregiver for a few days a week, a few hours each of those days.
You could check with your local Senior Service Center and see if they have any programs that might help you.
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Reply to Grandma1954
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Don't Be tempted to do this. In an hour she can turn on the burners to the stove and leave them on.. She could fall, go out the front door and get lost. It would be like leaving a toddler alone in the house. You've got really good suggestions coming here from everyone... You deserve some time to yourself hire a caregiver.
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Reply to Hrmgrandcna
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Get a caregiver when you are unavailable.
No one with dementia should be left alone.
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Reply to TouchMatters
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Minutetominute Mar 28, 2026
If you want to keep your loved one at home, then you need to invest the money to have respite caregivers whenEVER you are away from the house. Monitoring from afar doesn’t help in case of real emergencies like fire or wandering. Why take a chance when this person is the most valuable possession of your life?
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I do not believe anyone can be expected to "never leave their LO alone". I am going against the popular opinion posted here, but logically there are times you will have to leave the house and be unable to take her with you.

I know someone whose mother lived with her, and she did indeed leave throughout the day for errands or other appointments. She had security cameras inside her house that she would monitor on her phone. She even had audio capability so she could speak to her mother over a speaker.

The baby monitor is good, but I have no idea how long that range is. The only other thing I can think of would perhaps be something such as security cameras inside as well as outside that will monitor motion and give you an alert if a door opens while you are away.

I would certainly 'hope' that nobody would get in trouble with any authority if they had at least put reasonable measures in place to ensure a loved one's safety for an hour or two on occasion. Even if you had a paid caregiver, it is possible the caregiver could fall asleep or not be paying attention or just fail to show up when scheduled and still leave you with gaps of time where she would be alone. That is just reality.
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Reply to GingerMay
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Sandra2424 Mar 28, 2026
It is neglect. Is it responsible to "sometimes" leave a young child alone? Is it ok if they have a tracker so you will know if they walk into the street when you are at the grocery store or gas station? I don't see the difference.
The idea of security cameras to alert you if they get out or get into trouble inside is absurd. Tell me specifically what you would do if this alarm goes off and you are at the store, or naked at your doctor appointment! I guess you could call the police, but then you would have to explain why a vulnerable person was left alone in the first place. If they are not vulnerable, why do you have a monitor to keep an eye on them when you are gone? The police will ask you this.
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Your wife with dementia is unsafe left alone.
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Reply to Patathome01
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If something bad happens, you will be liable for neglect. Makes me worry about fire, etc. How scary for her if she can't get out.
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Reply to Sandra2424
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You can hire someone from Care.com; if they live or work nearby they may be willing to take a shorter shift than the four hours or more that agencies usually require. Or group your errands, appointments, etc. together and take a half-day or longer once a week.

I would not use NextDoor.com, as is sometimes suggested, for this because publicly advertising that your wife has dementia and sleeps all day could make you and her a target for a burglary or worse.
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Reply to MG8522
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Don't leave her alone. She is a child.
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Reply to memyselfandeye
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My wife would sleep until 10 30 to 11AM
II did my shopping when stores opened at 8AM
Best time to do anything for yourself is when she is sleeping
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Reply to Andiamo
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