about 2 years ago, dr. told me i have an umbilical hernia. no need for immediate surgery, so i put it off(scared). never had surgery except for wisdom teeth. on vacation in ar. visiting my mother, the hernia turned red and painful. surgeon wanted to do it right away in ar., but we wanted to be at home in ohio. left on wed. and drove all night to keep appt. at my doctor in ohio at 8oam thursday. she did surgery friday to repair it. it was incarcerated(trapped)and could not be pushed back in. if the intestines had been trapped and had no blood supply, it would have been a resection and possible infection--very serious. turns out i had a small lump of fat caught in the hole. i was lucky, 2 inch cut plus mesh. for those afraid as i was, after they give you a shot of "feel good", i blinked my eyes and was in recovery. it seemed that fast. have to take it easy for 3 weeks and have some soreness. so i learned a lesson, don't put it off.