Lifting with a hernia?

So I just got back into lifting last October after a couple of idle years. I'm all about strength training, and my legs are way behind the rest of my lifts because I was one of those schmucks that focused almost entirely on their upper body in the past. I started doing a leg-focused compound strength training routine that I found on bodybuilding that I really liked. I was making good progress, going about 3 months strong, but in Jan I was doing deadlifts/squats day, and mid-workout I felt a discomfort in my abdomen. It didn't hurt.. it just felt weird.
I noticed a very small bulge above my bellybutton shortly after, and found that I could push on it lightly and it would go away, but come back whenever I would strain my core. Went to the doc and it turns out I re-ruptured an umbilical hernia that I had fixed when I was born.
It's a very small tear, but I'll eventually need surgery or it will just get worse. The thing is, I can't really afford the surgery/time off work right now, and it's been 5 months since I've stepped foot in the gym now. I really miss strength training, but the doc said to stay away from the compound lifts that really work the core. That basically means no strength training at all.

Just wondering if anyone has dealt with this here, and if anyone has any advice or suggestions other than "get it fixed, duh". I'd really like to work on my legs more. I'm pretty active, go disc golfing every day, but I really miss the progress I was making, and that pump after a heavy lifting day. Any way I can get that without my stomach falling out of my stomach? lol