'The Amazing Race Canada' winner on bringing hope to others, 9 years after devastating diagnosis
Catherine Wreford Ledlow is no shrinking violet.
She studied with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, performed at the Stratford Festival, danced on the stage in Toronto, achieved her life’s dream of being on Broadway and tasted success in Los Angeles.
She and best friend Craig Ramsay even won Amazing Race Canada, beating out nine other teams in a gruelling competition. Not too shabby! A triple threat artist: dance, vocals, acting. Catherine’s motto, she will tell you, is, “I can do that.”
Catherine and Craig were crowned champions of 'The Amazing Race Canada' in 2022. Their participation in the show came almost a decade after Catherine was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and had two to six years to live (Photo: CTV The Amazing Race Canada)
In an interview with CTV’s W5, Catherine said, “I had all this confidence and I just wanted to get better and better.” She did.
Catherine’s mom, Diane Wreford, a former radio personality, describes her daughter as having “so much energy, we had to make sure there were places to channel it.”
The two women are very close, closer now that 42-year-old Catherine’s energy is being channeled towards the fight of her life. More than nine years ago, she was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma, a rare malignant brain tumour, and she was given two to six years to live. She’s outlived the prognosis.
As Diane told us, “Catherine is one of those people you go to cheer up, and she ends up cheering you up. She’s very positive.”
Diane is embracing her daughter’s positivity, but knows time is precious, which is why the extended family is spending time together, living just a few blocks apart in Winnipeg.
It’s given Catherine’s two children, Elliot, 12 and Quinn, 9, a chance to bond with their grandparents, and Diane, a chance to perpetuate her daughter’s legacy.
“Every day I will tell them how silly she was, or she used to do that.”
It’s those stories Catherine wants her mother to share with her kids, because the children know, “my time is limited and that I’m doing my best to stay here as long as I can. “
Catherine is also paying it forward by bringing hope to others. “If I’m not inspirational, then I’ve lost my way. I want people to see that things are possible, even with a terminal diagnosis.”
Catherine Wreford Ledlow speaks with CTV W5's Sandie Rinaldo
No one looking at Catherine today will believe she’s fighting a fatal disease.
She says, “That’s part of the trouble with it. It’s an invisible disease. And so I have to talk about it. Not so people go, 'oh poor Catherine,' but so people go, 'oh wow, she has brain cancer, but she can still do this and this and this and this.'”
Doctors cannot explain why Catherine has survived this long, but if a passion for life, pushing the limits, and pursuing new experiences is the answer, it will be a mother’s gift to her children when time moves on without her and memories start to fade.
Catherine and Craig dancing. They first met at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School over two decades ago (W5)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Wisconsin school district says active shooter 'neutralized' outside middle school
A Wisconsin school district said an active shooter was 'neutralized' outside a middle school in Mount Horeb on Wednesday, and no one inside the building was injured.
Poilievre unrepentant over calling Trudeau 'wacko' as his MPs say Speaker should resign
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirms his party will support the Liberals' federal budget
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his party will support the federal budget, ending any speculation that the party could pull out of its deal with the minority Liberal government.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Dental care program accepting claims for 1 million seniors
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
The remains belonged to three adults, a teenager and a newborn baby, according to a statement from the Latebra Foundation, a historical organization based in the Polish city of Gdansk, published Thursday.
Lawyers for alleged serial killer to argue he is not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers told court they will argue alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women by way of a mental disorder.
Local Spotlight
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
Haida Elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.