Lou, I am 65 and had my first hospital stay and surgery in April when I had my LAR. I went right into a temporary ileostomy, and I was just blind with anxiety in the days leading up to the surgery. There is no way to know what to expect. It will be ok. It will be scary, and different, and you will amaze yourself how strong and adaptive you are. You will draw on strengths you didn’t realize you had.
There are wonderful nurses and doctors and helpful people all along the way. I keep a pad with me always and wrote down EVERY question that crossed my mind.
I promise you it will be ok. Feel free to reach out to me anytime. I may have some similar experiences that could help you.
You got this! Sending 💗🌹