Learning outcome: To record the experiences of West Coast children from the past 100 years in order to create a History of West Coast people during times of difficulty and challenge - this will be turned into a book to be kept in local museums and at Shantytown.

My great nana Brown (nee Pauline Cairney) was born in Greymouth in 1941. At the age of 10 months old she contracted polio during the poliomyelitis epidemic that swept throughout the world. The virus affected her muscles on her left side of her face causing her mouth to move halfway up the side of her face. Her mother (Emma Cairney) sat with her day and night feeding her condensed milk, and massaging her little face. By doing this she survived and eventually her mouth moved back into place leaving just a slight slant. She was one of the luckier ones as many other children either died or were left paralyzed. I am thankful that nowadays there are vaccines that can stop you from getting polio.

By Mylah Neilson

Karoro School

Year 7

Age 11