Courage To Come Back: Youth award recipient survives cancer to chase big screen dreams

You could say he’s been a fighter all his life. Today, Casey Wright of Mission not only meets his medical challenges head-on, but the 21-year-old also finds ways to give back. Our series of Courage To Come Back profiles continues with a look at the recipient of the Youth award.

Casey was just a baby when he was met with his first medical challenge.

“Well, it started out at six months old with a cancerous brain tumor that left me with some deficiencies in my vision and my hormone system,” he said. “And that also affects my height. So I’m only four feet tall.”

Thirteen years later, his brain tumour was finally removed, but 10 days after the procedure, he suffered a debilitating stroke on his right side.

“I couldn’t move, couldn’t talk, no voice, anything,” Casey explained. “And then I had the kind of rare instance, an aneurysm, which is very rare in children. So I had to go to VGH to deal with that. But now I’m stable, for now, and here we are.”

Read more Courage To Come Back Award profiles:  

• Medical award recipient wouldn’t take no for an answer

• Addictions award recipient survived residential schools and alcoholism

At 21, he has already led quite the life. He recently performed in a play written about him, entitled Casey and the Octopus.

“Oh my gosh, that was one of the most fun I’ve ever had. It was 40 minutes. It was just me and multimedia in the background and it was the best time in my life,” he said. “I’m actually performing it again and I’m training right now to do it.”

Casey dreams of working in film and television. He already has some credits to his name.

“I’ve been in a few movies such as The War for the Planet of the Apes. I was a little background monkey, just doing my monkey thing,” he explained. “I’ve done an Amazon production called Man in the High Castle and a few other ones. And I’ve even rubbed shoulders with some top movie stars.”

Casey Wright, the 2022 Courage To Come Back Award recipient in the Youth category, was just a baby when a cancerous brain tumour changed his life. He’s overcome many challenges and now helps others.

These days, he lives and works at the Virtue Studio Ranch in Mission.

“So, we have occasionally a movie come on where there could be up to 200 people, and we have horses, we’ve got cattle, we’ve got dogs,” he explained. “We also have a program to bring disabled people out to give them a chance to ride and groom the horses.”

The studio is owned and operated by Hollywood stuntman Danny Virtue, who is working on a documentary about Casey’s life called Hope and Love (The Casey Wright Story).

When he’s not chasing his dreams, Casey finds fulfillment in his charity work. He’s a long-time spokesperson for the Michael Cuccione Foundation. He also raises money for BC Children’s Hospital and mentors at-risk youth.

“I love it. It’s very fun to be a role model and to speak for people that don’t want to speak or are afraid to speak about their situations,” he told CityNews.

“Sometimes, certain things are very hard, but I have the motivation of my friends and my family to keep me going.”

And if there is one thing to take away from Casey’s story, it’s this: “Even though I’ve had all these major setbacks in my life, I just keep pushing forward and advocating…to everybody, don’t give up. There’s always a better day coming.”

CityNews 1130 is a proud sponsor of the Coast Mental Health Courage To Come Back Awards, which raise critical funds for British Columbians living with mental illness.