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You'll be awoke between six and seven am by the morning shift nurses enthusiastically throwing open the curtains, I'm willing to bet the Nurses relish that bit! Despite your pleas for a lie in you'll be encouraged to get out of bed to get a wash and brush up before the breakfast trolley is wheeled around - not that you can eat though because you'll still be fasting in preparation for the operation.

While the breakfast is being served the nurse will take your blood pressure, pulse and temperature readings again. She'll also bring you a surgical gown and notify you of the time you are expected to go down to theatre. You need only put the gown on one hour or so before you go down to theatre, as the operating lists rarely run to time.

The nurse may well also give you a rather fashionable pair of white surgical stockings to wear. You can put these on just before you go down to theatre too but will need to wear them all the time until you are well enough to be up, about and walking around freely without spending too much time lying down. You'll think she has given you a pair far too small for you as they grip your legs like a vice and take a few minutes to get used too. They are meant to be that tight as they are designed to help the blood flow around the legs. Because you are going to be spending quite a bit of time lying down during your stay the blood flow in your legs can be effected. These are simple yet effective at keeping things moving freely and preventing clots.

In some hospitals they have disposed of the stockings completely and replaced them with a tiny daily injection usually given in the upper thigh.

Sometime after that your surgeon, or his senior registrar, and the rest of his surgical team will pay probably their first visit to you since your arrival at hospital. You can expect to see them everyday at roughly the same time on their ward rounds.

Because they have to see all their patients throughout all the hospital it will be only the quickest of flying visits. No sooner have they arrived than they are gone, but it makes a refreshing change from the previous visits from the Houseman the day before.

The Houseman will also be with the surgical team on their visit to let them know how you've been over night. He won't have a lot to say to them before the operation but once you've returned he'll have more to work with.

This will be the last time you'll see the team before the operation and it is the best time to iron out any final worries or ask any last questions you may have about the procedure. The team may be in a hurry but one member of the team will be only to pleased to reassure you about anything and answer your questions, in fact he'll be pleased that you're taking an interest.

The anaesthetist may or may not be the next professional to pay you a visit. It is very much up to the individual anaesthetist whether they pop by or not. Most of the information they need about anaesthetic allergies and your weight have already been asked by the Houseman the day before and is readily available from the notes. However quite a few anaesthetists like to introduce themselves to the patient on the ward before they are taken to theatre so that the patient recognises their face once they are taken into the anaesthetic room before surgery. It also gives them a chance to double check the answers you gave the day before.

If you have any worries about anaesthetic this is a good time to air them. If you are like me you'll be extremely nervous about the whole going to sleep business and waking up during the operation. The anaesthetist will explain the whole procedure to you and how it is practically impossible for you to be aware of any part of the operation. I found his words a real comfort.

If there is no sign of your anaesthetist presenting himself before the operation and you want to speak to him for reassurance or some other reason ask the Nurse if he is coming. If he isn't planning on it, request it. The Nurse will gladly arrange for him to be 'bleeped' and get him to come and see you.

Regardless of whether or not you were visited by your Stoma Nurse the day before you can guarantee you'll see her on the day. She'll bring with her your starter pack and spend sometime going through each item with you. The items in it vary very much to the needs of the individual patient but some items remain constant. Inside the box there will be a small box of drainable two piece pouches and a set of flanges. I won't go into explaining these just yet as the appliances deserve a full chapter to themselves and you'll find that later on. The Nurse will guide you to begin with. As well as the pouches and flanges you'll find a packet of lint-free medical wipes for cleaning the stoma and a packet of perfumed disposal bags that all used appliances and wipes go into once soiled.

For the first few weeks all your bags will be clear rather than the standard opaque. This is so that any nurses that visit you, either on the ward or once you arrive home, can look at the stoma and the consistency of any waste without having to remove the appliance. This in turn allows your stoma more time to heal and to get a bit of strength around the wounds.

As you can imagine constantly removing the adhesive seals that are placed around the stoma would weaken the healing process.

The next time you see her will be when you are actually getting ready to remove your first ever bag.

I found the prospect of the initial sight of the Stoma more worrying than the operation itself because I had not seen a picture of one before so had no idea what to expect. I only knew only what the Stoma Nurse and Support Group Members had told me to expect.

If like me you are worried about your first look at the Stoma then try to leave that moment until the Stoma Nurse is with you. She will then be able to reassure you that what you are seeing is in fact normal and that everything looks nice and healthy.

At some point between all these official visits the nurse will have to come and administer your bowel prep. This is best thought of a a high power laxative and can be given in the form of a Sodium Phosphate enema. However it is also possible that the bowel prep will start on Day One just to be absolutely sure. In my case I had my operation in the early afternoon and had the pleasure of two enemas. One early in the morning and the next one a few hours later.

The effects are truly outstanding. It is pure dynamite for the bowels. The nurse will administer the full enema and you'll be instructed to hold it for as long as possible before expelling it into the toilet. If you can hold it for ten minutes you've done really well. The laxative scene in Jim Carrey's "Dumb and Dumber" has nothing on this!

If at all possible try to have your relatives or friends visit you to keep you company up to the operation. That way your mind is occupied and less likely to dwell on any nerves that may be lingering.

When it is your turn the theatre porter will bring the trolley to your bed. A nurse off your ward will come with you to the theatre but before you go there are a few more questions, and she will check the name band on your arm to be absolutely sure you are the right person. Once done you'll be covered in a blanket and wheeled down to theatre. The nurse will stay with you until you are unconscious. Once you leave theatre and are taken to the recovery room she'll be told and will be there for when you wake up so that you see a friendly familiar face.

You will not be wheeled straight into the theatre and placed on the operating table. You'll be taken to the Anaesthetic Room where the Anaesthetist you spoke to earlier will hook you up to a whole array of equipment, which looks complicated but basically it reads your heart rate and blood pressure and displays it on a little screen.

Your name tag will be checked one more time before a syringe full of anaesthetic will be injected into your arm via the cannula. Very slowly you will drift off to a deep sleep with the nurse holding your hand.

When you wake up you'll be in the recovery room. Around you will be the friendly nurse from your ward and a couple of the surgery team. The nurse will quietly reassure and tell you that everything went fine and that it is all over. Meanwhile the surgery team will ask you if you are in any pain or discomfort and where it is. If you are you'll be given a shot of morphine and within a few minutes any discomfort will just fade away. You will not be moved from the recovery room until you are 'stable'. In other words in no pain and are well on the way to waking fully up. Once that happens you'll be wheeled back to your hospital bed where your family will probably be waiting for you. However you'll still be quite groggy and just drift off to sleep. The healing process has begun.

The ward nurses will come to have a look at your stoma every two hours to check everything is okay. You'll probably still be groggy but remember that you do not have to look at it with them. Just turn your head and look elsewhere. If you are curious to know ask the nurse how she thinks it looks.

Post-operative anti-biotics will be administered intravenously for at least the first twelve hours to make sure no infection forms in any of your new wounds. However most of this will go on without your knowledge because you'll still be groggy from the operation. Sleep is always the best healer.