Strong: Life, loss and eternal love for my daughter

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A tearful Safiyya said: "The morning we woke up, it was a really difficult morning, because I woke up with a feeling, I don't know, they say it is a mother's instinct, but I thought 'today was the last day'. Ashley Cain and Safiyya Vorajee spoke during an emotional interview to help launch The Azaylia Foundation. The charity the couple say has given them a purpose since they lost their little girl to acute myeloid leukaemia. They announced the horrible news that their baby, who was battling a rare form of leukaemia, had passed away in April last year. Ashley Cain said: ‘Writing this book has probably been my toughest challenge yet. Not only by revisiting the heartbreak, but making sure it truly reflects the traumatic but magnificently beautiful journey of me and my incredible daughter Azaylia. It is a true story of beauty and the beast. It’s a love story with a powerful, strong and unbelievably meaningful message. My daughter taught me the true meaning of love, even through a breaking heart. She taught me how to be strong, when all I felt was weak. The power of courage, even when I was most scared. To smile and shine light, when it seemed I was surrounded with nothing but darkness and to never ever give up on that or them in which you love. In her honour, I want to pass on those values to the world in this beautiful memoir, Strong.’ As for relationships, his playboy past is behind him. “I’ve no time for romance, it’s not like I shied away from it in the past! I can’t commit the time. I don’t know if I would want to subject anyone else to that right now.”

He’s still friendly with Safiyya – they split a year after Azaylia’s death. “Saf gave me the greatest gift I’ve ever had. We’ve built a bond that is unbreakable because of what we’ve been through together. This was a true heart felt book, and now I have read both versions, you as both parents are so strong. Before I went to sleep that night, I had a song with Azaylia, a Whitney Houston song, I remember singing that song to her. Through The Azaylia Foundation, the couple say they also want to raise awareness of the signs of childhood cancer. First fundraiserYou have this little innocent, beautiful baby, then you find out she has got tumours in her spleen, stomach, lungs and in her kidneys and the doctors telling us she would not make it on the first round of chemotherapy. She was just eight months old when the baby girl died and 31-year-old Ashley, together with Azaylia's mum Safiyya Vorajee, have now made it their mission to raise funds for and awareness about childhood cancer through a charity they set-up in their daughter's name - the Azaylia Foundation.

Carrying all their own food, clothes and shelter they will be on the water for an average of 18 hours a day. Ashley Cain is an ex-professional footballer and has also appeared on MTV’s reality TV shows such as Ex on the Beach and The Challenge, and Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins. He is currently appearing on BBC’s Go Hard or Go Home and has a hit podcast Fierce Minds, Kind Hearts.I hope the knowledge of Azaylia’s lifesaving gift, which will give countless families hope in years to come, brings comfort to them." They founded the Azaylia Foundation, which supports families fundraising for treatments not readily available on the NHS, and provides children with memorable experiences as they fight cancer. I had this following and I didn’t know what it was for. Then all of a sudden this situation happened and I realised I can make a difference.

When you have that feeling for the first time in your life, knowing who you are, knowing you have resources to be able to do something about it, that’s a pretty big responsibility. We tried everything to save her life,” says Ashley, tearfully. “There wasn’t an option that we didn’t explore. When she was going throughToday, to coincide with the first day of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Ashley will embark on the first of a series of fundraisers for the charity. This was an incredibly tough decision which we needed to keep to ourselves for some time to give us the opportunity to figure out our own journey privately. He said: "It was important for me to take on this boxing challenge because my daughter fought a heroic battle against cancer on this earth for eight months. Ashley posted: "Rest in paradise princess. I will always hold you in my heart until I can hold you again in heaven." It was hard but beautiful; child labour, the experience of going through that, it was just magical. Becoming a parent for the first time. That was that time to be a family."

In February last year, after months of treatment, the family was excited to be taking Azaylia home and were given the chance to ring the bell at the hospital. However, ten minutes before they were due to ring the bell, the family received the news that her Leukaemia had returned.He also modelled for brands such as Kalibre Clothing and The Couture Club. But his whole life changed when he and his then partner, Safiyya Vorajee, had a baby girl - Azaylia in August 2020. The eight month-old sadly lost her inspirational battle at the family home in Nuneaton on April 24 this year.