Hi, I'm John a 62 year old guy going on 2 years with my Ostomy. Mine was not a result of a prediagnised condition, but rather a sudden vowel blockage. It started while I was at work doing a night shift. U started experiencing abdominal pain so severe I could not stand up straight. I left work and my wife took me to the hospital. After an initial assessment they gave me meds for pain, and did and abdominal CT scan. The only thing they could find was a bilateral inguinal hernia. At this point the only symptom was the pain so I was discharged with pain meds and another med to help with stomach issues. This was on Friday morning and I had a surgical consult scheduled for the following Monday. When I got home there was some discomfort but not the pain  I had previously experienced. I was told to eat very lightly for a few days, so I ate soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, that I kept down and it caused no other discomfort. Everything seemed to be getting better until Sat night when I started vomiting and having bloody diahrea. My wife took me back to the hospital, where the found my blood pressure very low. I was transferred to the main hospital where the surgeon was awaiting me, and an emergency surgery was done on Sunday morning. The surgeon found a blockage and the transverse colon had become necrotic, so it was removed and a colostomy placed. I was kept in a coma until Monday morning. I spent 4 days in the ICU before being moved to the regular ward. Spent a total of 9 days in the hospital. The surgeon told me that he had some worries about me surviving the surgery. Today I am comfortable with my Ostomy, and can attribute that to what I have learned from other Ostomates in support groups of forums like this.