Anakin Suerink of Red Deer was granted a wish by Darth Vader in 2018, on behalf of Make-A-Wish Northern Alberta, and hasn’t looked back since. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Helping others like him

Red Deer teen rappels for Make-A-Wish one last time

Aug 26, 2021 | 10:05 AM

Anakin Suerink, who is just 19, is as resilient and tenacious as they come.

This weekend, the Red Deerian will rappel down the side of a very tall building for the third time in as many years, all in the name of supporting Make-A-Wish Northern Alberta. It’s a feat he likes to joke is easy, given his blindness.

Suerink, who’s indeed named after Anakin of Star Wars lore, was granted a wish about nine years ago, but his health only became stable enough to accept it in 2018. That wish was a dream vacation to Disney World.

The young man, who has inspired many, lives with hydrocephalus, epilepsy, autism, legal blindness, two brain cysts, migraines and several other conditions that cause him chronic pain. At least 20 days out of every month, there’s a headache, says mother Elizabeth Eckert.

Anakin Suerink and mother Elizabeth Eckert, who’ve become a dynamic fundraising team for Make-A-WISH Northern Alberta, are seen here. (Supplied)

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In 2019, Suerink wanted to give back to Make-A-Wish, and raise enough money to grant wishes to other kids. That’s when he signed up to rappel down Red Deer’s Executive Place as part of the Rope for Hope event.

On Aug. 28, he will participate in the organization’s final Rope for Hope, this time at the Coast Edmonton Plaza Hotel, which is several storeys taller. The organization is saying goodbye to the event to introduce a new fundraiser in 2022.

In 2019, Suerink raised $3,700, then $10,600 in 2020, and another $7,200 (so far) in 2021. Each wish costs about $10,000.

“I am very honoured that I have been able to give kids like me a wish,” says Suerink. “When I found out that the money I had raised went to a teenager that got a computer system, I cried. It was surreal then to know I did that.”

This year, Suerink, with the help of his mom, ran an online auction. He admits to being disappointed at being a few thousand dollars short with just a few days to go, but he’s holding out hope to reach the 10-grand mark.

Eckert says it’s hard to put into words just how mesmerizing it’s been watching her son overcome obstacles the last several years.

“I feel a combination of awe, pride, excitement and terror,” says Eckert, who lives with MS, fibromyalgia and COPD herself.

“I’m so proud of Anakin. For all that he suffers, he also continues to enjoy life and do all he can for others. However, watching him come over the edge and down a building is one of the most terrifying feelings!”

Fundraising has been hard on the pair’s health, they share, with three to four hours daily for four months of getting out into the community, making phone calls, sending emails, and putting together gift baskets, not to mention picking up and delivering auction items.

“It can be very challenging, but we have first-hand knowledge of how wonderful a wish is to a family,” says Eckert, “so we keep fundraising. Anakin is a sensational young man and his world has become so much brighter since we became a Wish family.”

Suerink still remembers the day his wish was granted, and how it was credited to the fundraising of one Joe Hittel.

That day, Leprechaun Joe was in attendance, and so was the 501^st Legion-Badlands Garrison, a group of Star Wars enthusiasts who made the occasion extra special.

“I wasn’t supposed to live. I have a lot of stuff wrong with me and everything in my life can be really hard. My health could get worse any moment and I never know what is going to happen. Some days I feel very angry,” Suerink admits.

“I want to fight for people like me now. I want to make other people happy. I honestly can’t understand why everyone doesn’t do it. If I can, why can’t everyone raise money for kids that are sick and might die?”

Three auction items are left, which can be found here, here and here.