“You don’t move on from this… you move on with it.”
Ashley Cain & Safiyya Vorajee face another Christmas without Azaylia
Almost five years have passed since Ashley Cain and Safiyya Vorajee lost their baby daughter, Azaylia Diamond Cain — yet as Christmas approaches once again, the pain still rises like a tide neither of them can outrun.
Azaylia was born in August 2020.
Two months later, she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of acute myeloid leukaemia. In April 2021, she died in her parents’ arms.
They held her together.
And later, they had to learn how to survive apart.
The devastation eventually tore their relationship apart, and by March 2022 they had gone their separate ways. But grief, they say, doesn’t respect distance — and Azaylia remains the invisible thread binding them forever.
“The nights are the hardest”
Safiyya admits that the festive season opens wounds she works all year to hold closed.
“After Halloween, when you see children playing together, it really hits,” she says.
“As Christmas comes closer, the nights are the worst. You can try to carry on, but the pain never stops.”
Ashley understands without explanation.
“Every single day is hard when you’ve lost a child,” he says.
“We both know exactly what the other is carrying — because we walked that road together.”
Turning grief into purpose
Though no longer a couple, Ashley and Safiyya continue to stand side by side through The Azaylia Foundation, a charity created in their daughter’s name to fund cancer treatment, research and awareness for children across the UK.
For Ashley, that mission has taken an extreme physical form. In 2024 he completed an Ultraman challenge covering more than 3,000 miles — running, cycling and kayaking around the length of Britain three times.
“I carry the pain most when I’m alone — out at sea, on long runs,” he says.
“But I don’t want sympathy. I was chosen to be Azaylia’s dad. That’s my blessing.”
He is already planning his next challenge: pulling a 1.5-tonne truck for 24 hours straight to mark the fifth anniversary of her passing.
“It represents trauma, grief, stress,” Ashley explains.
“You don’t move on from it. You move on with it.”
Life goes on — but never without her
Ashley has since welcomed two sons, while Safiyya has found love again. Their paths have diverged, but one truth remains unchanged.
“Even after everything,” Safiyya says softly,
“Azaylia left behind a love that will always connect us — and that love is bigger than both of us.”
Another Christmas is coming.
The lights will shine. The world will celebrate.
And somewhere beneath it all, two parents will quietly carry the same little girl in their hearts — forever.
