Hi Itsanewlife,
First off, welcome.
I have had a k pouch (like a j pouch but it has an abdominal stoma + catheter instead of the normal exit) for 35+yrs.
Basically j pouchers need things thicker and us k pouchers keep the contents thin...but a pouch is a pouch more or less.
Life is good. I work like a demon as a University professor, walk everywhere, got married twice (not at the same time but both post pouch creation), travel, go out, have friends and a family.
My plumbing is not normal but I am. I make allowances for my pouch's needs, avoid certain unfriendly foods and drinks and enjoy the others. I test out new foods before diving face first into the plate (I tend to be a bit bulimic so I need to be careful and pace myself when I encounter new, tasty goodies until I find out how they'll come out), sometimes when feeling ill (normal people get stomach bugs too) I go onto a couple days of liquids only...soups and smoothies. I feel better after that. I exercise, swim and keep active...love yoga and pilates too (do not ask me to climb a mountain, not my thing but others here run marathons, win all sorts of races and generally are super-human-walking-miracles in my opinion)
No, I am not normal, but I am as good as I can be all considering my disease and its ravages on the body. I do a lot and usually much more than most normal people that I know...so do not consider this the 'end' of life but the begining of a new life (kind of like your psudo!)...
No matter how sick we are, taking the first step is still scary and painful. It takes time and reflexion to finally make the choice and move forward.
Some of us live their lives "better than normal" while others will deal with post op complications, long term problems or punctual difficulties. There are no promises...just hope.
I wish you luck in your choices and future plumbing
Sharon