Ashley Cain risks life to keep daughter Azaylia's memory alive

Former nonrecreational footballer and world TV prima Ashley Cain is taking connected his riskiest situation truthful acold for the small miss helium mislaid to cancer.

"To the apical of each mountain, to the bottommost of each valley, on each road, crossed each water - I'll instrumentality you there, baby."

As helium delivered his daughter's eulogy, Ashley Cain vowed to transportation Azaylia Diamond Cain's sanction and bequest with him done each aboriginal situation helium faced.

So erstwhile anyone asks wherefore helium is attempting the Yukon 1000 - described arsenic the world's toughest endurance contention - helium replies: "When other would I get the accidental to instrumentality my beauteous babe from Canada to the Arctic Circle to Alaska?"

Azaylia was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia successful October 2020 and died six months aboriginal astatine conscionable 8 months old.

Since then, Ashley - who played for Coventry City and has appeared connected TV shows specified arsenic MTV's Ex connected the Beach and BBC's Go Hard oregon Go Home - has taken portion successful galore utmost challenges successful her name. These person included moving 5 marathons successful 5 days and cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats.

The Yukon, which takes spot successful July, volition spot him kayak down the Yukon River from Whitehorse successful Canada done the Arctic Circle to Dalton Highway Bridge successful Alaska successful the US. With lone 10 days to implicit the 1,000 mile race, 28 two-person crews volition request to beryllium capable to past successful the wilderness - determination are nary enactment teams accompanying them, though their advancement volition beryllium monitored.

Ashley and his teammate, Gary Johnson - a idiosyncratic trainer, anticipation to implicit it successful 7 to 8 days - which means they volition request to screen 120-125 miles (193-201km) each day.

"That volition impact 18 hours a time kayaking with 1 hr to change, transportation your structure and find a harmless spot to devour your nutrient successful lawsuit you're successful wolf oregon grizzly carnivore territory," helium says. "Then 5 hours' slumber - if you tin slumber - to commencement the time again."

As good arsenic the menace of carnivore and wolf attacks, challengers besides look the hazard of hypothermia if they autumn into the turbulent waters. "I'm consenting to hazard my life", says Ashley.

"There's a batch of things that spell against you retired there," helium says, "especially arsenic I'm going to beryllium the least-experienced idiosyncratic by miles to person ever attempted it. I've lone been kayaking since February."

Known for his velocity and power, Ashley says these agelong region challenges that impact endurance don't suit him.

He explains: "I'm big, I'm stocky, it goes against me, but successful infirmary [with Azaylia] I realised that beingness is simply a conflict of endurance."

To marque it through, each you tin absorption connected is your adjacent measurement helium says - and successful each challenge, Azaylia is the crushed helium keeps taking that adjacent step.

"When I'm struggling, I look up to her and she gives maine the spot that I need," helium says.

Ashley has written a memoir, which volition beryllium published connected 22 June, astir the narration with his daughter, her combat for beingness and the struggles helium has faced since she died.

"After Azaylia passed distant and I spoke her eulogy, I recovered myself spiralling a small spot into alcohol," helium says.

"When I woke up 1 morning, I was successful tears due to the fact that I felt ashamed, I felt embarrassed. I thought, 'If this is the idiosyncratic that my daughter's looking down on, I request to bent my head.'"

He says helium could prevarication to his parents astir whether helium had drunk alcohol, but helium could not prevarication to himself oregon Azaylia.

"That's erstwhile I knew I needed to beryllium changed… I needed to support the promises that I'm making, not lone to me, but to her."

With his ex-partner, Safiyya Vorajee, and the instauration they created successful their daughter's name, Ashley is determined to fundraise and summation consciousness of puerility cancer. He says it is an country of probe that is severely underfunded.

"If determination is nary caller research, it means determination are nary caller cures, if determination are nary caller cures, it means determination are nary amended statistics," helium says.

No kid should person to spell done what his girl experienced, Ashley says, adding she taught him however to beryllium brave erstwhile beingness was frightening.

The TV prima says his Christian religion was tested passim her illness, but helium refuses to fto Azaylia's abbreviated beingness beryllium successful vain.

"There has to beryllium a crushed wherefore what happened, happened, and I'm not going to beryllium that idiosyncratic that turns to chromatic arsenic a result. I americium going to beryllium the leader of my communicative for her, for myself and for different radical astir me," helium says.

Working seven-day weeks and 18-hour days, Ashley describes his docket arsenic relentless. Currently single, helium says it wouldn't beryllium just to commencement a caller narration due to the fact that helium is committed to the way helium is on. For now, helium besides cannot spot himself having different child.

"I find it hard to beryllium capable to ideate that I could emotion anyone oregon thing other arsenic overmuch arsenic I emotion Azaylia," helium explains.

By pushing himself to the limits, Ashley says helium is not moving distant from the symptom of his loss, but moving "head connected into it". He wants to amusement others "no substance however pugnacious your conflict was, determination is spot astatine the different side."

He has chosen to spell to the extremes, risking his beingness successful challenges specified arsenic the Yukon 1000, due to the fact that helium wants to marque the top interaction for Azaylia.

"I volition bash thing with that unthinkable and beauteous beingness and I volition marque her sanction unrecorded connected for galore much years."

If you are affected by immoderate of the issues raised successful this story, enactment and proposal is disposable via the BBC Action Line.