A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up for Better Lovers drummer Clayton “Goose” Holyoak’s five-year-old daughter, Sage, who was recently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.
Through an Instagram post, Better Lovers confirmed last night (December 9th) that Holyoak’s daughter has already begun treatment. Her diagnosis arrived last week, at which point Holyoak left the Better Lovers’ tour to head home for the family emergency. The band ended up recruiting drummer Noah Taylor to complete the dates, which wrapped on Sunday (December 8th).
“The past week has been really tough for our Better Lovers family,” the band wrote in their most recent Instagram post. “Sage has a long road ahead of her but we know she will fight and get through this. If you have the means, any amount helps in this battle.”
The GoFundMe for Sage was created by Holyoak’s partner Taylor Gatzke, and has raised over $30,000 already, more than their $10,000 goal to support Sage’s treatment.
“As we are still processing and navigating this challenge we’ve faced, we want our friends and family to have access to updates on Sage’s journey,” Gatzke wrote on GoFundMe. “First, we want to thank every single person who has reached out, sent packages, sent food, prayed or show support in anyway. All of the support truly means more than the world to us.
“Sage is doing wonderful as she is on day 5 of treatment. There are just a few more labs we are waiting on over the next few days (or weeks) regarding the extent of treatment. But as of right now, it will be about a 6-month cycle treatment for Sage.
“We have a long road ahead of us, and we are just taking it day by day to be honest. It is unfathomable that our precious, perfect little girl is going through this, while it also feels like things are piling up in the corner that we’re trying real hard to not focus on. Anything helps and we ask more importantly, to keep rooting and praying for our Sage Bug.”
You can find out more and donate here.
As previously reported, Better Lovers will continue promoting this fall’s Highly Irresponsible album in 2025 on a tour with Florida metalcore veterans Poison the Well. You’ll find more details on those dates here.