Anyone who knows Steve Krull would be surprised to see him running at anything less than full speed.
Steve, who turned 80 this fall, lives with his wife Ellen in Fairport near their six grandchildren. The couple spends a lot of time with the kids, who range in age from 18 months to 12 years old.
“I like to get down on the floor and play with them and throw a ball and tickle them and all that kind of stuff,” Steve said.
The way Steve plays with his grandchildren is the way he does everything: all in. He spent more than 30 years teaching high school biology, then worked as an airline ticket agent for a decade before switching to real estate with Howard Hanna.
When he isn’t showing houses for clients or spending time with his family, Steve is walking their dog or playing the occasional round of golf. Life moves quickly, the way he wants it to.
But just a couple years ago, that pace of life was slowing down and it wasn’t because he wanted to.
What caused Steve’s shoulder pain
In late 2023, Steve started to notice he was feeling more pain in his right shoulder, especially when he would reach up. His shoulder would catch, which made it difficult to grab items in his pantry at home or play with his grandchildren.
“My wife would tell me that, while I was sleeping, I would cry out in pain in the middle of the night because the feeling was so excruciating,” Steve said.
Initially, Steve went to Rami Elshaar, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and Medical Director of Shoulder Surgery at Rochester General Hospital and was told he had arthritis. He received steroid injections to relieve the pain in his shoulder, which did help temporarily. But after having to undergo repeated injections, Steve decided to meet with Dr. Elshaar again.
“My daughter was a medical assistant at Dr. Elshaar’s office,” Steve said.
After taking x-rays of Steve’s shoulder, Dr. Elshaar explained that Steve’s shoulder joint was bone on bone and that a shoulder replacement would be a suitable option for him. But ultimately, Steve said the decision was left to him, which he appreciated.
“Dr. Elshaar said, ‘When you feel like you are ready for the procedure, that will be your decision,’” Steve said. “It really made me feel comfortable because the surgeon didn’t pressure me.”
Several months later, Steve said he reached the point where he realized it would be an improvement to his quality of life to have shoulder replacement surgery. In mid-September 2024, he went to Rochester General Hospital for surgery.
“His whole team was great, from anesthesia to nurses and everyone in between. They treated me royally,” Steve said.
Life returns to Steve’s speed
After being discharged and going home, Steve had to wear a brace for a few weeks and perform most tasks with his left arm. That meant eating, writing, bathing himself, getting dressed, and everything else required help.
Over the next five months, he went to follow-up appointments with Dr. Elshaar and maintained a rigorous physical therapy routine to build up his strength and range of motion with his right shoulder. He kept up his progress and made steady gains to bring himself back to where he wanted to be.
Today, Steve said his pain is now completely gone and he is almost fully back to having a normal range of motion. He can sleep without pain, pick up his grandchildren from school, and walk the dog with a leash. He and Ellen travel together, and he has even been able to play several holes of golf.
“I wanted to feel as young as I was 20-30 years ago,” Steve said. “It worked.”
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