Before reading this thread I never realised that senile dementia was so common.
My other half's gran had it for several years. She had to go into a care home and, exactly like others have said, ended up not being able to recognize anyone from the family.
I suppose it being so common nowadays is just because folks on average live longer now. Seems like a shitty way to spend your last years. Eventually even my Mrs, who is a kind person and not at all hard hearted, was saying that the old girl might as well go (to me, not in front of her gran) as she had no quality of life anymore and nothing to even look forward to. In the end that was pretty much what happened, the old girl just stopped eating and slipped away.
Doesn't life suck sometimes.
Hmmm. I'm feeling guilty about not visiting my own gran now. I haven't been to see her for about three years.