Dad devastated as daughter’s ‘growing pains’ turn out to be cancer

On Friday, Kevin Rice is facing his fear of skydiving — in honor of his late daughter.

The 40-year-old from Bristol is undertaking the high-flying adventure after the death of his daughter, Raeyah, who passed away this year at just 4 years old after a battle with kidney cancer.

Kevin, a builder, said he refrained from climbing ladders or doing “anything out of the ordinary” so that he wouldn’t harm himself.

But now, he says he’s “not scared about jumping from a plane.”

“It’s a very weird way of looking at it but when Raeyah left, she took all of my fear with her,” he told Jam Press, describing his little one as “crazy and engaging.”

“She was a daredevil, she had fire.”

The toddler was initially diagnosed with a Wilms tumor in December 2021 and received treatment, but eventually relapsed after complaining about leg pain, which was initially written off as “growing pains.”

But scans showed the devastating truth: The cancer had returned in her right hip and had spread to other areas of her body.

“After pushing for her to be seen by a specialist, the hospital carried out further investigations and it was confirmed she had relapsed,” Kevin said, adding that he and his wife Rebecca, 42, were “devastated.”

“Within a couple of weeks, she was back in hospital riddled with tumors from head-to-toe.”

Kevin and Rebecca have two other sons, Mason, 10, and Mitchell, 13, the latter of whom hasn’t been in school since Raeyah’s death.

“We didn’t know how to tell our sons that their sister was going to die,” said Kevin, whose youngest son was diagnosed with autism.

“Mason has found it really difficult to understand how Raeyah went in for treatment one morning and never returned home.”

Raeyah died two months after the doctors discovered her relapse and a funeral was held on April 14 that was attended by loved ones and some nurses that treated the little one.

“That entire hospital knew our daughter, she was so popular,” Kevin said. “Anyone who did anything to impact my daughter’s life in her four years was there.”

The family founded Raeyah’s Hands of Support, a charity to fundraise for children battling cancer.

On Saturday, Kevin’s skydive, along with five friends, with Go Skydive in Salisbury will raise money for the non-profit.

“The fundraising is a way to still include her in the family,” he said.