Ashley Cain has shared the speech he made at his daughter Azaylia Diamond Cain's funeral last Friday.
The Ex On The Beach star, 30, shared the "toughest speech of [his] life" with fans today as he posted the 12 minute video on his Instagram, in order to give them an insight into his daughter's funeral and the impact she has had on not only his life but the lives of everyone who knew her.
Watch a clip from the speech below:
Ashley said he had written the speech at 4am two days before the funeral service, but he can also be seen ad-libbing as he takes to the podium, in the moments where he got too emotional to read from the paper in front of him.
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He bravely told the crowds in attendance: "I always thought I was a bit of a celebrity, then Azaylia came along and completely blew me out the water.
"I think when you have a child, as a parent, you can be slightly biased. But I think it's safe to say, on behalf of myself, my partner, my friends and my family, and the whole world that has followed our story that my daughter, Azaylia Diamond Cain, was special.
"[She was] beautiful, strong, courageous, and so so inspirational."
He continued: "From the second that she came into my life, everything changed.She changed my life, she saved my life and she made my life."
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Members of the audience supported Ashley as his voice begun to shake while reading the powerful speech.
He shared memories of the moment they received his daughter's terminal cancer diagnosis - which he brands the worst news of their lives - but also some happier reflections on his happy, smiling daughter, and the joy she brought his family.
"I miss kissing her lips, even though I remember Saffi used to say leave alone," he said. "I used to be like 'I can't, because all I would do is kiss her and kiss her and kiss her'.
"I miss smelling her head, I miss blowing raspberries on her belly, I miss putting her feet on my face and going, 'Poo stinky feet', she used to love that.
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"I miss dancing with her, which we used to do every single day. I think the thing that I miss the most is when we were in hospital, I used to stay most nights and I really, really, really miss waking up in the morning, opening the blinds and seeing her massive, massive, beautiful smile."
Ashley went on to make a moving reference to the Disney film, Coco.
"It had no real significance to me at the time but now, it has resonated with me deeply," he said.
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"It turns to Mexican traditions to offer a more optimistic view on one's journey to heaven, that our journey to the other side should not be viewed as some unavoidable terror, but as reminder to treasure our loved ones, both living and the heavenly, that as long as our loved ones are remembered here on Earth, they will live on for eternity in paradise.
"So that being said, I made a promise to my daughter and myself that I will make her name live on."
"I will carry her name to the stars, I will be her vessel and help other families and poorly children until it's my final journey, and then, hopefully then, I will be at peace and I will be happy as I will have earned my place in heaven, where I will be with you my baby, once again."
To conclude the speech, Ashley sung Azaylia's favourite song, I Wanna Be Like You from Jungle Book.
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You can watch the whole thing on his Instagram, here.
In a caption alongside the video Ashley wrote: "The week leading up to Azaylia's day was comprised of sadness, fear and anxiety.
"I was sad because my beautiful baby had passed, I was scared because it was our final goodbye and I was anxious because I wanted to make sure I had the strength to stand up and speak about my hero, and how she impacted my life.
"I wrote a speech at 4am two days before Azaylia's day. I couldn't bring myself to go back to it or read through because of the pain it caused.
"I was so nervous that I wouldn't have the strength when I came to it, and It made me panic, as it meant everything to me to be able to speak about my likkle lion that day. But when the day came, I just had some strong belief and some crazy faith, that my baby would get me through it. And like always, she did."
"To the top of every mountain, to the bottom of every valley. Along every road, across every ocean. North to south, east to west, corner to corner, pillar to post. I'll take you there."
In honour of Azaylia, hundreds of members of the public lined the streets last Friday, and some carried orange flowers with them, which is the colour of leukaemia awareness.
Ashley also wore an orange tie and a handkerchief in honour of his late daughter.
A horse drawn carriage carried Azaylia along her final journey to a local church where Ashley, Safiyya and other close members of the family and friends began the funeral service privately.
Azaylia was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia at just eight weeks after she born in August last year.
In the months that followed, Ashley and Safiyya raised more than £1.5 million for Azaylia's cancer treatment fund. They intended to take their daughter to Singapore to undergo life saving CAR T-cell therapy, but they were dealt a devastating blow when the hospital informed that the treatment was no longer an option because her cancer was so rare.
Ashley and Safiyya were allowed to take Azaylia home from the hospital for good towards the beginning of April, to be made 'comfortable' in her final days, after the news that her cancer had progressed too much for any more treatment in the UK.
The likkle lion has inspired so many. RIP Azaylia.
For help, support or more information, please contact Blood Cancer UK https://bloodcancer.org.uk/
Topics: Azaylia Cain, Celebrity News, Ashley Cain