Rosemaryolsn,
Welcome! I just wanted to respond as I haven't seen any one else acknowledge your questions. I have not had to have a diversion so I trust some others will. I know it is a hard surgery, there is no way of sugar coating it and recuperation is several months. I am linking the 3 different types of diversions (copy and paste as for some reason it doesn't hyperlink) :
my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/12546-urinary-reconstruction--diversion. It is a starting reference although your post indicates an illeal conduit is likely. It is the simplest one to do. Almost everyone I have read they are happy and adapted to whatever version they chose. I have a friend that has an Indiana pouch and his was done at age 82, a year ago and doing well.
The important item is getting a good surgeon. One that does at least 30+ and up a year. That means a major cancer center like MD Anderson, Sloan Kettering, Stanford etc if you are able to travel.
