Ashley Cain has candidly admitted he’s feeling ‘slightly rattled and super nervous’ after revealing his baby daughter Azaylia’s leukaemia has returned.
The Ex On The Beach star, 30, shared an emotional update with fans on Instagram on Friday night, saying he needs to ‘some time to sit and reflect’.
Earlier in the day, the doting dad had taken his little girl, six months, to hospital for an appointment and revealed there is a ‘new plan of action’ amid her cancer battle.
Strong: Ashley Cain has candidly admitted he’s feeling ‘slightly rattled and super nervous’ after revealing his baby daughter Azaylia’s leukaemia has returned
Giving a late night update, Ashley said: ‘I’ve let the girls go to bed and I’m staying up, can’t lie it’s been the first time properly since it started I’ve felt super super nervous.
‘Feel like it’s hitting me a bit and I haven’t been rattled on his whole journey and I feel slightly rattled at the moment.
‘Think I need some time to sit and reflect, pull myself together and reset for tomorrow, crack back on. Heads gone a bit today, can’t lie.’
Ashley had earlier shared sweet clips of him playing with his daughter after their trip to the hospital for an appointment.
Doting dad: The Ex On The Beach star, 30, shared an emotional update with fans on Instagram on Friday night, saying he needs to ‘some time to sit and reflect’
In one video the reality star looked every inch the doting dad as his adorable little girl lay sleeping on his chest with her hand resting on his tattooed arm.
It had been a busy day for the family, with the star earlier reassuring fans he’d update them on Azaylia’s situation ‘when we get our heads around it,’ before telling his tiny daughter: ‘You’ve got this.’
Ashley documented their trip to hospital for an appointment, with Azaylia looking sweet in her car seat, while he told her: ‘Hello princess, off to hospital, aren’t we?
‘Big day today. Let’s go champ. You look amazing by the way. You look absolutely beautiful.’
Adorable: Ashley shared a sweet clip of his little girl sleeping on his chest and resting her hand on his arm
After their appointment, the father-of-one asked his little girl: ‘Shall we go back home now baby? Shall we have a play? Do you wanna have a kiss? Have a cuddle? Yeh.’
Ashley then revealed: ‘So, we’ve got a new plan of action now for Azaylia. It’s gonna take a bit of time to get our heads around it…
‘But, I’ll update you guys as soon as we’ve had a chill-out, got our heads around it and we’re ready to go for it.’
Then, in a heartwarming moment, the reality star turned to his daughter and said: ‘Let’s go champ. Let’s go champ. Likkle lion. Likkle lion. You’ve got this.’
New plan! Earlier on Friday Ashley took Azaylia, six months, to hospital for an appointment and revealed there is now a ‘new plan of action’ amid her cancer battle
Ashley was left in tears on Tuesday as 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.
Azaylia is battling a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia and had recently undergone a stem cell transplant.
Taking to Instagram, Ashley shared the moment of Azaylia ‘ringing the bell’ so he and his partner Safiyya Vorajee could finally take her home, with Azaylia continuing her treatment as an outpatient.
You’ve got this! Speaking on his Instagram Stories, the star told fans he’d update them on the situation ‘when we get our heads around it,’ before telling his tiny daughter: ‘You’ve got this’
Ashley documented their journey to hospital, with Azaylia looking adorable in her car seat, while he told her: ‘Hello princess, off to hospital, aren’t we?
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!
‘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.
Emotional: Ashley was left in tears on Tuesday as he marked the moment his daughter Azaylia left hospital to go home for the first time in five months
‘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
Devastating: ‘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’, Ashley wrote
‘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.
Poignant: Taking to Instagram, Ashley shared the moment of Azaylia ‘ringing the bell’ so he and his partner Safiyya could finally take her home
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: Last month, Ashley revealed his daughter had been responding well to her stem cell treatment