I had the surgery almost a year ago to the day. I had rectal cancer, so I had to have it removed along with a third of my colon. I was in the hospital for two weeks, but only because I developed an infection. I had actually gone home for a day after a week-long stay but noticed drainage that shouldn't have been there and ended up back in the hospital for another week. I had radiation treatments prior to surgery and apparently there is about a 50-50 chance for radiation patients to develop infections. Obviously, the odds for me were higher than most, and I don't mean to scare you, but unfortunately, infections are a risk even with minor surgery. If the infection had not happened, I probably would have been okay and back to a "normal" life in a couple of months. I can't speak to what life is like with an ostomy and still having a rectum, but I can say that once I recovered, it has had no negative influences on my life. It still hurts a little when I sit for long periods, but that has also improved with time. Getting used to having a stoma and its care has been the hardest thing for me to get used to. But not having an anus sounds weirder than it actually is. God bless!

This is a remarkable community of 40,817 members.
You will get real advice from fellow ostomates who truly understand you - things you won't find in the books.
And it's not all about ostomy - there is friendship and relationships too.
Privacy is very important - your profile is not visible to the outside world.
mild_mannered_super_hero
Great place for newbies to learn, I have helped many folks on here learn to irrigate, plus learned a few tricks myself. Great informative site.