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JC Stroebel was diagnosed with Grade 3 oligodendroglioma.<\/p>\n
ROSEVILLE, Minn. \u2014 On one of the first warm days of spring, JC Stroebel can’t help but feel thankful.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
“You wanna cherish every single moment, dude,” Stroebel said, standing outside of his Fridley home as his son, Sherwood, plays basketball in the yard.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
“There’s this thought that I’ve had as of late as my son begins to create his own memories,” Stroebel said. “I just want to be on my game every moment, because I don’t know what are those moments that my son’s going to remember and cherish for himself.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Getting to this point \u2013 the ability to walk unassisted, speak in full sentences, play like a dad wants to be able to do \u2013 took months to get to.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
“This was like, a week after, and I was trying to get something for myself,” Stroebel said. “I was just dropping s*** everywhere.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Last December, the tattoo artist was on his way to work at Beloved Studios in Roseville, when he noticed something odd.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
While texting a client, Stroebel says he couldn’t spell anything. Believing it was a migraine, he thought he should continue on to work.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Anna Stroebel, JC’s wife and, who was driving that day, insisted they go.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
“We were in the ER, and they were like, ‘you’re gonna be staying here tonight,’ and did a bunch of imaging,” JC said. “And the next morning, they told us, ‘Hey, you have a brain tumor.'”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of scheduled surgery and recovery plans.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
“There was no, there wasn’t even a moment to sit down and be like, ‘Whoa, I have a brain tumor,'” JC said. “It was just like, ‘I have a family. I have a life to live.'”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
JC was diagnosed with a Grade 3 oligodendroglioma<\/a>. Mayo Clinic, where JC was treated, says the cancer is rare.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n JC had surgery at the end of last year, and he says he now has an empty portion in his brain. It’s affected his ability to read, write and see clearly.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n “Have to basically relearn how to be a tattoo artist from the very beginning of learning how to draw again is quite the endeavor,” he said. “I’m not near tattooing right now.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n Two years ago, Stroebel, a tattoo apprentice at the time, posted on social media<\/a> after a Minnesota Timberwolves game.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n “Will tattoo ‘Naz Reid’ on anyone for $20,” the post on X said. “I\u2019m dead serious.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Will tattoo \u201cNaz Reid\u201d on anyone for $20<\/p>\n I\u2019m dead serious<\/p>\nCommunity<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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