BREAKING NEWS

'I Miss You So Much': British Soccer Player Ashley Cain's Daughter Azaylia Dies At 8-Months-Old After Leukemia Battle

Former soccer player Ashley Cain announced that his daughter, Azaylia, died on Saturday, April 24, after a battle with cancer. She was only 8-months-old.

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Cain and his girlfriend, Safiyya Vorajee, welcomed Azaylia Diamond in August 2020 but the baby was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia a few short weeks after she was born. 

ashley cain safiyya vorajee daughter azaylia dead cancer leukemia
Source: ASHLEY CAIN/INSTAGRAM

"Rest In Paradise Princess," Cain posted on Sunday, April 25, to confirm the sad news. "I will always hold you in my heart until I can hold you again in heaven." 

"I can’t put into words my sadness and pain, there aren’t words to describe it. I love you with every ounce of my body and I miss you so much already," the reality star wrote on Monday, April 26, with a photo of himself holding his daughter's hand.

"You are my Angel my heartbeat my soul, RIP my precious baby, you will always be with me like a handprint on my heart," Vorajee posted on her account.

"I don’t know why you’ve been taken away from me and my heart aches in your absence," the 30-year-old wrote. "You saved my life, you really did. With my second chance, I make a promise to you that I will make yours live on in our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers.

"I am blessed, I am honoured and I am privileged to be your father. I would go through all of the pain again and again. Because what you gave me in those 8 months will live with me for eternity," he concluded. 

Earlier this month, Cain told fans that the couple was told to "make the most" of their time with their daughter. "You can understand what that message means," he said on his Instagram Story, "but the fact of the matter is that you make the most of it every day and we enjoy every day."

Vorajee posted that nurses visiting their home said to enjoy the weekend because "they now think her body is slowly shutting down." She added, "I got told this a couple of weeks ago and she has stayed so strong through this." 

The pair set up a GoFundMe to raise funds to treat Azalylia in a specialist hospital in Singapore for "CAR-T therapy plus a haplo transplant, for a minimum period of 1 year."

"We will be donating any extra money to other children and their families in the same situation as us — we pledged to give back to this community from the moment we were thrust into it and that is something we will always honour," the GoFundMe read.

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Scroll down to see the reactions to the sad news:

Coventry City

Cain's former team Coventry City offered their "thoughts and condolences."

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Tom Parker

The Wanted member Tom Parker, who is going through his own cancer battle, said he "thought little Azaylia was gonna f**king do it." On his Instagram Story, he wrote, "I thought she was gonna pull through. It shouldn't happen to kids. It shouldn't happen to anyone." 

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A fan account for MTV's The Challenge, which Cain appeared on, said their "heart breaks for Ashely Cain and Safiyya."

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One user shared that they were "heart broken for someone I have never met."

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"Literally sobbing over a family I don’t know but the world is such a cruel place. Such a beautiful little baby who has touched more hearts than can ever be explained," another fan wrote.  

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