'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
BREAKING Speaker kicks Poilievre out of Commons over unparliamentary comments
Speaker Greg Fergus kicked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre out of the House of Commons during question period today.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Freeland previews omnibus budget bill, proposed capital gains tax change left out
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Conservatives push motion calling for Carney to testify, say it's about 'accountability'
The federal Conservatives made good on their promise to push for former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to testify before MPs, resulting in a heated political debate in Ottawa on Tuesday.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
London Drugs stores remain closed, 'cybersecurity incident' may have breached personal data
London Drugs says it is working with third-party security experts as the company tries to reopen dozens of stores across Western Canada that were shuttered by a cybersecurity incident Sunday.
Judge raises threat of jail in hush money trial as he holds Trump in contempt, fines him US$9,000
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined US$9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. And if he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.
Local Spotlight
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.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.