Catherine Wreford Ledlow is no shrinking violet.
She studied with the , performed at the Stratford Festival, danced on the stage in Toronto, achieved her life鈥檚 dream of being on Broadway and tasted success in Los Angeles.
She and best friend Craig Ramsay even won , beating out nine other teams in a gruelling competition. Not too shabby! A triple threat artist: dance, vocals, acting. Catherine鈥檚 motto, she will tell you, is, 鈥淚 can do that.鈥�
In an interview with CTV鈥檚 W5, Catherine said, 鈥淚 had all this confidence and I just wanted to get better and better.鈥� She did.
Catherine鈥檚 mom, Diane Wreford, a former radio personality, describes her daughter as having 鈥渟o much energy, we had to make sure there were places to channel it.鈥�
The two women are very close, closer now that 42-year-old Catherine鈥檚 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鈥檚 outlived the prognosis.
As Diane told us, 鈥淐atherine is one of those people you go to cheer up, and she ends up cheering you up. She鈥檚 very positive.鈥�
Diane is embracing her daughter鈥檚 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鈥檚 given Catherine鈥檚 two children, Elliot, 12 and Quinn, 9, a chance to bond with their grandparents, and Diane, a chance to perpetuate her daughter鈥檚 legacy.
鈥淓very day I will tell them how silly she was, or she used to do that.鈥�
It鈥檚 those stories Catherine wants her mother to share with her kids, because the children know, 鈥渕y time is limited and that I鈥檓 doing my best to stay here as long as I can. 鈥�
Catherine is also paying it forward by bringing hope to others. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 not inspirational, then I鈥檝e lost my way. I want people to see that things are possible, even with a terminal diagnosis.鈥�
No one looking at Catherine today will believe she鈥檚 fighting a fatal disease.
She says, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 part of the trouble with it. It鈥檚 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.'鈥�
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鈥檚 gift to her children when time moves on without her and memories start to fade.
