Nick, so sorry you are feeling depressed. To form a j pouch, they only need about 2 to 5 cm of the rectum and no colon. The pouch is formed from the small intestines end called the ileum. Why is your surgeon concerned about a foot of colon you won't even need? Is the game plan to connect the small intestine directly to the remaining colon without a j pouch? My only problem with that is, if the inflammation is in the colon and not going away, is it even control able? I lost my colon to UC. There was no making my colon healthy, no matter what we tried. So a pouch of one kind or another was the only option to be healthy again that I had. I guess I'm just saying is, that a direct connect( colon to small intestine) would be okay, if you are going to be healthy again. If not, you prob. should look into a j pouch. Mine isn't perfect, but I haven't regretted it for a minute.
Aimee