Ashley Cain marked his daughter Azaylia’s seven month milestone on Wednesday with a series of sweet snaps – amid the youngster’s leukaemia battle.
Last month, Ashley revealed the devastating news that Azaylia’s leukaemia has returned following treatment – with the tot currently at home from hospital
Celebrating seven months since Azaylia’s birth, the Ex On The Beach star, 30, posted the sweet snaps of Azaylia sitting up on the floor as she gave a cute, wide-eyed gaze to the camera.
Milestone: Ashley Cain marked his daughter Azaylia’s seven month milestone on Wednesday with a series of sweet snaps – amid the youngster’s leukaemia battle
The proud father captioned the post: ‘7 MONTHS TODAY – I pray the next 7 months is full of good news, happiness and health my little princess… You deserve all that and much more! I LOVE YOU’
Seven-month-old Azaylia is battling a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia and has recently undergone a stem cell transplant.
Ashley also took to his Instagram Stories to post a video of himself cuddling his baby girl in front of a mirror and gave her a motivational speech as she faces more cancer treatment ahead.
Princess: The Ex On The Beach star, 30, captured the milestone with sweet snaps of Azaylia sitting up on the floor as she gave a cute, wide-eyed gaze to the camera
‘Let’s go champ!’: Ashley also took to his Instagram Stories to post a video of himself cuddling his baby girl and gave her a motivational speech as she faces more cancer treatment ahead
He donned an orange Nike t-shirt and planted a kiss on Azaylia’s head as he cradled the seven-month old in his arms.
The former footballer said: ‘You’ve got so big, so quick, and you’ve been through so much and we’ve got a long way to go but we’re going to do it.
‘We’re going to work hard. We’re going to dig in, all with smiles on our faces, yea?’
Azaylia adorably cooed in response as Ashley finished the positive speech with his catchphrase, ‘Let’s go champ!’
Adorable: Seven-month-old Azaylia is battling a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia and has recently undergone a stem cell transplant
It comes after Ashley admitted that he’s found the last couple of weeks ‘mentally challenging’ as he copes with his baby girl’s diagnosis.
In an emotional video shared to his Instagram last Friday, the reality star told how he’s pushed himself to get out of his ‘comfort zone’ and back on top form as he insisted: ‘My daughter needs me at 150%’.
Speaking into the camera during a walk, Ashley told how the video is ‘self reflection’ after finding himself struggling mentally in the wake of his daughter’s illness.
The reality star then gave an inspirational message of how he’s turned things around and is determined to be strong and transfer his positive energy to his little girl.
He said: ‘The last couple of weeks have been very mentally challenging and I’ve done what I never do, I let myself slip.
‘It’s all because I haven’t kept my standards, I haven’t been tenacious with the way I go through life. I’ve sat back and I’ve allowed myself to get in my comfort zone and that is the worst thing you can do. Nothing was ever achieved in a comfort zone.’
So tough: It comes after Ashley admitted that he’s found the last couple of weeks ‘mentally challenging’ as he copes with his baby girl’s devastating diagnosis.
Ashley went on: ‘My daughter needs me at 150%. That means, I need to do whatever I can do in my power to make myself that level so that I can transfer that energy onto her. If I eat right, if I sleep right, if I train right, and if I keep pushing towards my goals in life, that makes me the top of my game.’
Last week, he gave an update on Azaylia’s treatment, saying he and partner Safiyya Vorajee’s, 33, next course of action was to reduce her cyclosporine medication in the hope it will prompt Azaylia’s stem cells to fight her cancer.
Posting a photo of his six-month-old looking up at the camera, Ashley wrote: ‘Having my daughter back at home has been amazing. She is happy, she is growing and she is learning new things every day!
‘This being said, there is still a huge cloud over us because consultants discovered that Azaylia’s leukemia has returned post transplant, which leaves us with very little options going forward.
Heartbreaking: He recently told fans that there are ‘very few options’ to help his baby daughter Azaylia after her leukaemia returned (pictured in January)
‘However, our next step is to reduce her cyclosporine medication which is there to regulate her new stem cells, to wake them up and give them a boost in the hope they will fight off the remaining leukemia cells,? which the chemotherapy can’t.
‘We are hoping that we encounter a strong case of GVL (Graft vs Leukemia) and minimal amounts of GVHD (Graft vs Host Disease) in this process (sic).’
Going on to gush about his daughter’s positivity in the face of her illness, he went on: ‘I am SO proud of how much strength and courage she has shown throughout this journey!
‘& the fact she can always find a smile no matter what she’s going through, is nothing less than unbelievable!
‘We go again Likkle Lion. Please keep Azaylia in your prayers. LETS GO CHAMP ❤️’
Honest: Posting a photo of his daughter looking up at the camera, Ashley added: ‘We are hoping that we encounter a strong case of GVL (Graft vs Leukemia)’
Plan: Ashley said he and his partner Safiyya Vorajee’s next course of action was to reduce her cyclosporine medication in the hope it will prompt Azaylia’s stem cells to fight her cancer
Ashley was left in tears last month when he marked the moment his daughter Azaylia left hospital to go home for the first time in five months.
The reality star described it as a ‘miracle blindsided by heartbreak’ after doctors delivered the news her leukaemia had returned – just 10 minutes before the family were due to leave the children’s ward.
Taking to Instagram, Ashley shared the moment of Azaylia ‘ringing the bell’ so he and his partner Safiyya could finally take her home, with Azaylia continuing her treatment as an outpatient.
He penned: ‘Today was supposed to be a day of unquestionable happiness. However, it turned out like most days on this journey; A miracle blindsided by heartbreak!
Emotional: Ashley was left in tears last month when he marked the moment his daughter Azaylia left hospital to go home for the first time in five months
Poignant: Taking to Instagram, Ashley shared the moment of Azaylia ‘ringing the bell’ so he and his partner Safiyya could finally take her home, with Azaylia continuing her treatment as an outpatient
‘We got told a few days ago that’s Azaylia would be ringing the bell today and coming home with us, as a family to resume treatment 2 days per week as an outpatient.
‘However, 10 minutes before the moment we have been praying for over the last 5 months…
‘We got urgently informed that Azaylia’s leukaemia had returned. We crumbled and cancelled the celebration as we felt broken and numb to the core before seeing her beautiful face telling us, the show must go on and us then realising how far our little girl has come and how much she deserves this moment.
‘She has battled against the odds, she has overcome every obstacle in her path and she has done it all with remarkable spirit and the biggest smile on her face!
‘For now we are enjoying precious moments at home until we return to hospital on Friday! Thank you for your support and please keep our beautiful daughter in your prayers!’
The moving video showed the corridor lined with nurses and doctors applauding the family as they prepared to go home.
Through tears Ashley said: ‘I want to say thank you for all the care you’ve given us. For looking after her but also just the care for us has been amazing.
Sad: The star said it was a ‘miracle blindsided by heartbreak’ after doctors delivered the news her leukaemia had returned – just before the family were due to leave the children’s ward
‘We got some news today that Azaylia’s leukaemia has come back but that just means that we stay positive and we get back to ring that second bell and get out of here.’
The couple had faced an agonising two week wait to find out whether the stem cell transplant managed to clear out the leukaemia from her bone marrow.
Ashley said he was devastated to learn Azaylia was at a higher risk of complications going into the transplant after her cancer returned, following two rounds of chemotherapy.
When Azaylia was diagnosed with leukaemia she had a soaring white cell count of 200, and also had tumours on her lungs, kidneys, and stomach.
Keeping positive: Ashley’s partner Safiyya Vorajee also commented on Ashley’s post saying that their ‘special little girl’ will ‘beat this’
Ashley revealed that a normal person’s white cell count is five, while adults who are suffering from the blood cancer tend to have a white cell count of 40, so it was alarming that Azalyia’s was so high.
The star explained that being told the news left him a ‘broken man’, and he claimed it was an ‘absolute miracle’ that she has been able to fight the cancer.
Through publicising Azaylia’s battle, Ashley has helped the NHS get 80,000 people to sign up to become stem cell donors in just 48 hours after he appealed for help.
Saying that he was ‘forever grateful’ to the members of the public who had ordered test kits to be added to the stem cell register, Ashley claimed the charities usually get 30-40,000 people registering in a single year.
Ashley, who made his appeal to find a donor on social media, said he thought it was ‘beautiful’ how people could come together for a good cause in spite of negativity that is often prevalent online.
Treatment: In January, Ashley revealed his daughter had been responding well to her stem cell treatment