How to Get Around After Surgery — Lawrence, KS Guide

Surgery isn’t the hard part. The four to eight weeks AFTER surgery — getting to the bathroom, getting to your follow-up appointment, getting groceries, getting your kid to school — that’s where most people realize they didn’t think this through.

This guide is for Lawrence, Kansas residents (and the families helping them) who are about to have surgery and need a practical mobility plan for the recovery period.

Match the equipment to the surgery

The right rental depends on what got operated on. Here’s the quick decision tree:

Foot, ankle, or lower-leg surgery → knee scooter

If your surgery is on a foot or ankle (Achilles repair, bunionectomy, fracture fix, plantar fasciitis surgery), your surgeon will tell you to keep weight off that leg for 4 to 6 weeks. The standard option is crutches, but crutches are exhausting after the first day.

A knee scooter lets you rest the injured leg on a padded platform and roll yourself around using your good leg. Faster than crutches, less tiring, and your hands stay free to carry coffee or a phone.

Knee or hip replacement → walker first, then nothing

Joint-replacement surgery typically goes like this: you leave the hospital with a walker (or crutches), use it heavily for 1-3 weeks, then transition to a cane, then to nothing. A 4-wheel rollator with a built-in seat is more comfortable than a basic walker because you can rest mid-walk.

If your hospital sent you home with a basic 2-wheel walker that’s hurting your back or wrists, switching to a rollator usually fixes it.

Back surgery → wheelchair or rollator depending on severity

Back surgery recoveries vary wildly. Spinal fusion can knock you down for 2-3 months; a smaller microdiscectomy might have you walking the next day. Talk to your surgeon about expected weight-bearing and movement restrictions.

If standing for more than a few minutes is going to be hard, a transport chair (caregiver-pushed) handles short trips and the rollator covers walking with rest stops. For longer recovery where you need to leave the house regularly, a manual wheelchair gives the rider self-mobility.

Cardiac, abdominal, or general surgery with extended fatigue → mobility scooter

Heart surgery, major abdominal surgery, and recoveries from cancer treatment often leave a patient mobile-but-tired for 2-3 months. They can stand and walk for 5 minutes; they can’t do a 45-minute trip to the grocery store.

A mobility scooter bridges this gap. They can leave the house for normal life — the store, follow-ups, family events — without burning all their energy on the walk from the parking lot.

How long do you need it?

Match the rental term to the recovery, not the calendar:

If your recovery runs longer than 8 weeks, the math sometimes favors buying instead of renting. See our rent-vs-buy knee scooter comparison — the same logic applies for other equipment.

Plan delivery before surgery, not after

Most of our Lawrence delivery calls happen the day before discharge — the family realizes their mom is coming home tomorrow and there’s no equipment in the house. We can usually still make it work, but it’s stressful.

The cleaner sequence:

1. Two weeks before surgery: Talk to your surgeon about expected recovery time and equipment.
2. One week before surgery: Reserve the equipment. Tell us the surgery date — we’ll deliver the day before discharge.
3. Day of discharge: Equipment is already at home. Family member meets the patient and the equipment together.
4. End of recovery: Call us, we pick up. No long-term contract.

What you’ll spend

Roughly, for a Lawrence rental:

• Knee scooter, 6 weeks: $279 monthly + ~$25 second-month adjustment = around $304 + $75 delivery = $379 total
• Standard rollator, 3 weeks: $79/week × 3 = $237 + $75 delivery = $312
• Manual wheelchair, 4 weeks: $429 monthly = $429 + $75 delivery = $504
• Mobility scooter, 8 weeks: $695/month × 2 = $1,390 + $75 delivery = $1,465

These are rough — your actual rate depends on the specific equipment and term. See Lawrence pricing for the full rate sheet.

What we don’t do

Three things we want to be clear about:

1. We don’t give medical advice. We rent equipment. Your surgeon, primary care doctor, and physical therapist make the medical decisions; we deliver the gear that follows from them.
2. We don’t bill insurance. Direct-paid only. If Medicare or your plan needs to cover this, you need a certified DME provider, not us.
3. We don’t pressure-sell long contracts. Rent for one week, four weeks, or whatever the doctor’s plan is — extend if you need to, return when you’re done.

How to get started

Call 913-775-1098 with your surgery date and your surgeon’s recovery timeline. We’ll recommend the equipment, quote a price, and schedule delivery.

Or browse the Lawrence equipment list and reserve online.