Do not be fearful of colostomy surgery! 
The doctor will cut a small hole in your abdomen pull a part of your colon through the hole then sew the colon to your abdomen so it stays put. You now have a  bright red stoma on your tummy. The stoma does not have any nerve endings so you cannot feel the it. You just have to wear a bag/pouch/appliance on your tummy to hold your poop.
Poop is your friend, it is just the food you put in your mouth that your body could not use and it had to get rid of it. I receive my supplies from Shield HealthCare you can check them out at http://www.shieldhealthcare.com. They have been very helpful. They have a booklet "Living well with an Ostomy" that you can request that maybe able to answer some of your questions.
Yes, there are some side effects you can no longer wear tight pants without wearing a loose top. There are bathing suits you can wear, pleated pants work best for me and I usually wear a vest, just because. Depending on how much of your GI track has been removed could restrict what you can and cannot do, the biggest problem could be your acceptance of your new life. I have not been able to do anything I wanted to do since "Siggie" arrived in my life. (My sigmoid was removed that is how Siggie got his name.)
Do not be fearful of colostomy surgery!
mlmcg

Thanks so much Mimcg for your encouraging words. I am afraid of leaving my home now because of accidents and I want to get back to a new normal,if that makes sense. I had a colostomy for 3 months in 2008. I actually didn’t think that it was not too horrible because I was dealing with a wound vac on that long open abdominal incision and that was horrible after the colon perforation. I will be having surgery in Memphis by the Dr. That has the only Ostomy Clinic in town. I will have several meetings before the date. I am going to be busy trying to get Thanksgiving and Christmas tended to before Nov.27. I look forward to checking this site and learning how to adapt better to this. Thanks again. Mpy952

New normal makes perfect sense. Do not be afraid to admit you will have a new friend, your ostomy.
If you will be getting an ostomy on the 27th of November ask as many questions of the doctor as you can before then, start your list now so you do not forget what you want to know. 
When the nurse(s), who shows you how to care for your ostomy, is working with you find out how long they have been working with ostomy patients (ostomates); what information they have that will help you; who can you contact once you are home with your questions; and who orders your supplies. Do you have to use the supplies they recommend; will your insurance cover the cost; can you use free supplies or get help covering the cost of your supplies. Having an experienced ostomy/wound nurse is one of the best go-to's you could have. 
For a short time you could use diapers when you want to go out. I had to wear them in re-hab and they are not too bad. I will try to answer your questions, if I do not know the answer I will tell you.
mlmcg

The typo on the Dr’s name I did not catch. Who would let a Dr. That touch them? His name is Dr. Joshua Katz. I will start a list using your questions first and add to them. Thanks again. Please chime in if anyone else have some hints.