Yep, you can think you have everything figured out and under control, but in reality, you don't have much control at all. Everyone in my family thought my brother was nuts, going into debt going on vacations to Europe and not planning for old age. He died suddenly of a massive stroke just shy of his 55th birthday. My sister-in-law was crushed, but grateful for all the wonderful years and memories they shared. The only member of my family that lived long enough to be in a nursing home was one of my grandmothers, and she had Alzheimer's, and couldn't remember past 30 minutes.
I'm 59 this summer, and my husband and I retired a few months ago. We wanted to enjoy our time while we had our health.
So, if an ileostomy seems good now, it is a good choice. If life is better for you without dealing with appliances, that's a good choice. By the way, very old people have ostomy surgery all the time. It is a pretty simple procedure. Pouch removal, not so much. But if you were old and frail, they would just do what was necessary.
Jan
