My mom and dad stayed at home. My sister gave up her nursing career to stay with them. I went to their home in Puerto Rico 4 times a year to give my sister some time to go to the beach and visit with her family in NY. They were pretty stable and did not get dementia until the end and that was probably caused more by heart problems than anything else. They both died peacefully at home. My MIL was another story. She had dementia for about 10 years and went from being a nice gentle soul to being a terrible tyrant with a vocabulary that would shame a sailor. We had caregiver after caregiver quit after she hit them or spit at them and never mind about the names she called them. She was vicious with my DH and but for some reason spared me other than racial epithets. She became sneakier and sneakier and escaped from the house repeatedly in the night. One night we found her by our pond. We lived on a ranch and very few neighbors and it was frightening when she escaped although we had latches and locks all over the place. She threw food and although she was continent she would do her business on the floor and step in it so it went all over the house. When my DH retired, this stopped somewhat but it was insane at our house. We had no visitors because we never knew what would happen when they were there. We ended up being prisoners. My only escape was to go to work part time so that we could afford the caregiver. After 7 years, she went to an assisted care facility. We were very active with the facility and I have to say they were wonderful. I went twice a week and taught a quilting class for the residents and staff. My DH visited daily. We are grateful for the assisted living facility/nursing home. When she deteriorated further, she went into the nursing home part of the facility and we visited there frequently too. It makes a difference if you go there to be with your family member. I hate to say that when she passed it was a blessing because we still miss her and love the her that was before the dementia kicked in.