What she seemed to enjoy the most was the fact that he enjoyed it.

Rogers and four of her children had a rare opportunity for a day of family fun. She lives in Edmonds, just north of Seattle. But her 16-year-old son, Max Buckingham, is a resident of the Providence center for medically fragile children in Portland, so he doesn’t make many family outings.

The chance came Sunday at the Clark County Fair, and he made the most of it. After the carousel ride, Rogers explained how it went.

“You know it’s good when you can hear him yelling,” Rogers said. And then she pointed out how Max was raising his hands and fluttering his fingers during the carousel circuits.

When that happens, she said, “You’re there.”

Max is one of six children attending the fair through  the “Memory Makers” program. They come from the Providence center and the pediatric rehabilitation program at Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital.

All the children have complex medical issues. Max’s is so rare it doesn’t have a name.

“Max is missing part of his 13th chromosome,” Rogers said. “It’s like severe cerebral palsy.”

Rogers brought along two of Max’s brothers, Dave and Brad Buckingham, stepbrother Lanny Rogers, and grandmother Joan Sims.

The more the merrier.

“The thing about the fair, the whole family gets to go” through this program, said Elizabeth Sullivan. She is a recreation therapist at the Providence center, a long-term care facility that is home to 58 children.

“Some of the families have a lot of other kids and traveling with medically fragile children can be difficult, helping them out of their wheelchairs and into the rides,” Sullivan said.

Sunday’s fair hosts were personnel from Fire District 6 — Lt. Kristan Maurer and firefighters Bill Dunlap and Travis Dick, as well as volunteer Wendy Breaker. The program’s partners include the fair, Butler Amusements, International Association of Firefighters Local 1805, People’s Community Federal Credit Union and American Medical Response.

The sponsors provide everything from specialized transportation to all-day ride bracelets to stuffed animals.

This is the seventh year of the program, although the second time Legacy Salmon Creek has participated.

“The families that experienced it last year came back in awe. They felt treated like royalty,” said Lisa Lyons, supervisor of Legacy’s pediatric rehabilitation program. It serves about 200 children, mostly outpatients, a week.

One Legacy kindergartner is going to the fair for the first time, Lyons said. “It’s not something the family had felt safe doing. Having this opportunity is remarkable.”

Rogers had another way to describe Sunday’s visit with Max and the rest of the family.

“I kind of feel like this is ‘Make a Wish,’ ” she said.

Tom Vogt is at 360-735-4558 or at tom.vogt@columbian.com.