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Reality TV star's desperate $1.8m plea to save sick daughter

A reality TV star has made a desperate plea to raise £1 million (AUD$1.8m) to save the life of his seven-month daughter who is battling an aggressive form of leukaemia.

Ashley Cain, who appeared on Ex On The Beach in the UK, and his partner Safiyya Vorajee share baby girl Azaylia, who was sadly diagnosed with Acute myeloid leukaemia or 'AML Leukaemia' at just eight weeks old.

Reality TV star Ashley Cain has made a desperate $1.8m plea to save his daughter, Azaylia who has leukaemia. Photo: Instagram/mrashleycain.
Reality TV star Ashley Cain has made a desperate $1.8m plea to save his daughter, Azaylia who has leukaemia. Photo: Instagram/mrashleycain.

'Help save our girl'

On Sunday, former footballer Ashley put out a call for donations after learning that Azaylia's bone marrow transplant was unsuccessful and that she had 'heartbreakingly relapsed'.

They were advised by doctors that the only option to save Azaylia's life would be to relocate to Singapore where she can undergo specialised treatment that costs 'in excess of 1 million pounds'.

As Azaylia's AML Leukaemia is progressing so rapidly, Ashley and Safiyya needed to move quickly and raise the £500,000 (AUD$900k) initial deposit to be accepted into the costly program.

"After long discussions and a global outreach for treatment, our consultants along with consultants from around the world have come to the conclusion that the ONLY option to save Azaylia’s life is to fly to Singapore for CAR-T therapy plus a haplo transplant, for a minimum period of 1 year," Ashley explained in a moving Instagram post.

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Ashley's heartbreaking GoFundMe post has already surpassed its £1 million (AUD$1.8m) goal. Photo: Instagram/GoFundMe.
Ashley's heartbreaking GoFundMe post has already surpassed its £1 million (AUD$1.8m) goal. Photo: Instagram/GoFundMe.

CAR T-cell therapy is a new form of immunotherapy that uses specially altered T-cells to directly and precisely target cancer cells, while a 'haplo transplant' uses healthy, cells from a half-matched donor to replace the unhealthy ones.

"Because of the aggressiveness of Azaylia’s disease, we don’t have time on our side and we may have to fly out within a matter of weeks.

"This treatment and associated expenses will be in excess of 1 million pounds with an initial deposit of £500,000 just to be accepted into the hospital and onto the program."

That same day, Ashley and Safiyya scrambled to set up a GoFundMe page for their bub with the hopes of reaching a £1 million target.

"We are on our knees asking for help to get us to Singapore," reads the page description.

"Even the smallest of donations can help us reach out [sic] goal! Please help us to save our beautiful daughter Azaylia, she has inspired not only us as her parents but so many other people around the world.

"If you have been following our journey you can see that she shows us all everyday how much she loves life and wants to be here!"

Ashley shared an update on Azaylia, who was sleeping in her hospital crib after a 'long day' of treatment. Photo: Instagram/mrashleycain.
Ashley shared an update on Azaylia, who was sleeping in her hospital crib after a 'long day' of treatment. Photo: Instagram/mrashleycain.

'Lost for words'

In a heartwarming show of support, donations began flowing in and at the time of writing the couple have already surpassed their goal by £400,000 (AUD$722k).

Leading the donation table is billionaire Pretty Little Thing founder Umar Kamani who pledged £20,000. Other Brit celebs who dug deep were cleaning sensation Sophie Hinchcliffe aka Mrs Hinch who gave £3k as well as Love Island stars Molly-Mae and Maura Higgins who donated £1k each.

After raising such a staggering amount for his 'strong little girl' Ashley took to his Instagram Stories to thank everyone who had donated to save Azaylia's life.

"I'm absolutely lost for words. I'm overwhelmed by the sheer amount of support that you guys have shown us.

"My family are eternally grateful to you guys."

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