Ashley Cain ‘needs’ pain of daughter Azaylia’s death to keep him moving forward: ‘I like to feel pain because it’s the only time I feel something’-Rachael O'Connor-Entertainment – Metro

Ashley Cain has spoken about the continuous pain of losing his daughter Azaylia to childhood cancer, and how it pushes him to help others.

The former football player welcomed baby Azaylia in 2020 with then-partner Safiyya Vorajee, however the little girl was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia just weeks later.

Azaylia died in April 2021 at just eight months old, devastating her parents, who split earlier this year.

Ashley and Safiyya started a foundation in Azaylia’s memory after her death, to support other children and their families going through cancer treatment. 

And Ashley, 31, is constantly putting himself through gruelling marathons to raise money for the Azaylia Foundation, having recently cycled an incredible 1700km across Europe.

However he says the physical pain of the marathons is nothing compared to the continued mental anguish of being without Azaylia.

Ashley has taken part in gruelling fitness challenges in aid of the Azaylia Foundation (Picture: PA)

Ashley and Safiyya lost their daughter to childhood cancer at just eight months old (Picture: @miss_safiyya_ / Instagram)

Appearing on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain, Ashley said: ‘When people ask me, “Are these challenges hard?” I have to tell them they’re not hard.

‘Every single night, visiting your daughter in a cemetery, that’s hard.

‘It was my birthday on Tuesday. I spent the morning sitting in the rain eating my breakfast at her resting place. That’s hard.

‘I accept that pain. I use it to push me through, to do something to try and benefit the lives of these children who are fighting cancer.’

Ashley says the physical pain of the marathons is nothing compared to visiting his daughter at her grave (Picture: ITV)

He went on to say he feels he ‘needs’ the pain, explaining: ‘I don’t wake up every morning hoping that the pain will go away or wondering when it’s going to stop.

‘I accept that I’m going to feel pain and I like to feel pain because it’s the only time I feel something in this world now. It’s the time I feel the love for my daughter.

‘And if I’m going to live every day of my life in pain, then by God I’m going to do something with it and I’m going to try and help people.’

Safiyya and Ashley split earlier this year but remain close (Picture: mrashleycain/Instagram)

Ashley went on to reveal that the Aaylia Foundation has launched a new scholarship fund for PHDs, to tackle what he said is a lack of research going into childhood cancer.

Former couple Ashley and Safiyya recently marked what would have been Azaylia’s decorated Azaylia’s second birthday, visiting her grave together and decorating it with toys and flowers.

Safiyya, 34, shared photos and videos of her daughter, telling her followers: ‘The happiest moment of my life was two years ago today when I gave birth to you.

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‘This morning I woke up at 06:55, I gave birth to you at 06:56, now that is a beautiful sign from you baby. 

‘Happy heavenly birthday my beautiful baby two today. The most precious moment of my life.’

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