He’s openly documented the daily challenges of caring for his little girl during her battle with leukaemia.
But on Friday Ashley Cain took to Instagram to share a rare moment of happiness with his fans, as his baby daughter Azaylia said ‘Dadda’ for the first time.
Sharing a video of the touching moment on Instagram, the Ex On The Beach star, 30, told fans it had ‘made his week’ to hear his seven-month-old daughter speak his name for the first time.
So sweet: Ashley Cain took to Instagram on Friday to reveal his baby daughter had said ‘Dadda’ for the first time amid her battle with leukaemia
Ashley shared the sweet video which had been recorded by his mum and sister while they watched little Azaylia play with him on the bed.
Clearly enjoying playing with her dad, the tot suddenly uttered ‘dada’ before the star could be heard saying: ‘Yeah!’
Posting the video to Instagram he wrote: ‘I JUST GOT MY FIRST DADDA!!!
‘I can’t believe my mom and sister were recording me playing with Azaylia over FaceTime and she popped up with this! That has honestly made my entire week!’
Adorable: Sharing a video of the touching moment on Instagram, the Ex On The Beach star told fans it had ‘made his week’ to hear his seven-month-old daughter speak
Cute: Ashley shared the sweet video which had been recorded by his mum and sister while they watched little Azaylia play with him on the bed
Heart-warming: Clearly enjoying playing with her dad, the tot suddenly uttered ‘dada’ before the star could be heard saying: ‘Yeah!’
Ashley, who has openly documented the daily challenges of caring for his daughter while she battles leukaemia, said earlier this week having the youngster at home as ‘brought so much of his soul back.’
He also said on Tuesday that he and Azaylia had returned to hospital for a visit as they were waiting for her to have a bone marrow test.
In a lengthy post, which accompanied a picture of him and Azaylia in hospital, he wrote: ‘Humbled every time we return. Being at home has been amazing.
‘Having my family back together again has brought so much of my soul back, that I didn’t realise how much had actually gone!
‘It’s crazy that it was only the other day that it kicked in again how poorly my baby really is and how much of a tough battle we still have ahead! (sic)’
Candid: Ashley said earlier this week having Azaylia at home as ‘brought so much of his soul back’ after briefly returning to hospital for a bone marrow test
He went on: ‘I was speaking to my partner last night and I said to her that this is by far the saddest and most heartbroken I have ever been, yet it’s the happiest and most complete I have ever been.
‘I guess it doesn’t make sense unless you’re in it, but when my baby is at home with me there is no moment in my lifetime that compares!
‘We have another eagerly waited bone marrow test coming up. My heart, my soul, my energy and my prayers are that we get the result we have been wishing for this time around! Let’s go Likkle Lion. I believe in you.’
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%’.
Procedure: Ashley said his seven-month-old daughter is now waiting for another bone marrow test, and his ‘heart’ and ‘soul’ are focusing on getting ‘the result we have been wishing for’
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
Earlier this month, 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.
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.
Heartbreaking: He recently told fans that there are ‘very few options’ to help his baby daughter Azaylia after her leukaemia returned (pictured in January)
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.
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