Sarah Rigan has been through just about as much as a mother can handle.

Rigan’s son Conor, 5, has been battling cancer nearly his entire life. He was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor at just six months old, and since then has endured six brain surgeries to deal with recurrences of this disease.

Rigan, a former Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools teacher and mother of three, has dealt with a complex mix of emotions during this grueling odyssey. Perhaps the worst thing is the constant and all-consuming fear of a relapse, something that’s weighed heavily on the entire family for far too long.

“We of course have hope for our son, because he has beaten the odds so many times and is an outlier, but you just can’t get rid of the fear. You never feel safe from the fear of the cancer coming back and taking him,” she says. “Not everybody has a happy ending.”

Then there’s the actual, day-to-day work of battling the disease. There’s barely time for emotion when you’re wrapped up in constant doctor’s visits, traveling far for special surgeries or procedures, dealing with the side effects of treatment or plotting your next steps. It’s a constant grind. One foot in front of the next.

“Fighting cancer really is like another job, a full-time job,” Rigan says. “It can take all of your time if you allow it to, just because there's so many phone calls and emails and things to keep up with when you're in this kind of long-term journey.”

Along the way, Sarah and her husband Patrick – a well-known Old Mission vineyard owner, worker and winemaker – had growing sympathy and empathy for other families in this fight. Sarah also discovered that only four percent of federal cancer research expenditures go to pediatric cancer research.

These two items led to the birth of the More than Four Foundation, an organization started by the Rigans dedicated to the war on pediatric cancer. They hope to raise awareness around this funding disparity while also raising money directly for pediatric cancer research.

“In the beginning, you're just trying to survive. But after a while you realize that if you just sit on the sidelines and wait for change to happen, you can't expect anything to change,” Rigan says. “And so that's where we're at. We felt like even if this money only helps (a little), it's better than nothing.”

The More than Four Foundation will hold an inaugural 5.04K run/walk on Sept. 21 in Traverse City (the extra 0.04 is meant to demonstrate how small 4 percent really is). The untimed race will start at 9 a.m. with the course loop start and finish at the corner of Union and Eighth streets. All ages are welcome, and wagons or strollers are encouraged.

After the race, there’ll be a family-friendly after party at Brady’s Bar until 3 p.m. For $15 a plate, you can get a pulled pork sandwich meal, with all proceeds going to the foundation.

“There’s no limit,” Rigan says. “We want as many people as possible to show up.”

Rigan hopes that this inaugural run/walk is the first of many events to be held by the More than Four Foundation.

“I’m a runner, not competitively, but because it’s good for mental and emotional health – it’s a good outlet,” she says. “So I would love to see this become an annual thing. And we have lots of ideas for different events in the future to raise more money and awareness.”

Sarah and Patrick are already tremendously grateful to the community for their support thus far.

“We’ve had so much support behind us through prayer, through financial support, meals (and transportation), really any way that people can help, they have,” Sarah said. “Everyone is always ready to help us when we need it.”

Click here for more information about the More than Four Foundation and the upcoming event.