In 2004, New Zealand was in the thirteenth year of an epidemic of meningococcal disease, a bacterial infection which can cause meningitis and blood poisoning. Most Western countries have fewer than three cases for every 100,000 people each year, with New Zealand averaging 1.5 before the epidemic started in 1991; in 2001, the worst year of the epidemic in New Zealand, the rate hit 17. 5,400 New Zealanders had caught the disease, 220 had died, and 1080 had suffered serious disabilities, such as limb amputations or brain damage. Eight out of 10 victims were under 20 and half were under 5 years of age. The internationally low proportion of deaths from the disease had been credited to wide publicity of the disease and its symptoms. In June 2004, Charlotte Cleverley-Bisman became the face of the epidemic.

As part of her rehabilitation process, she played with toys and exercised on a daily basis. She took her first solo steps using prosthetic legs and crutches in September 2008, and no longer needed crutches by October 2009.

In December 2008, then aged five, Charlotte won TVNZ’s inaugural Attitude Spirit award.

By 2010, Charlotte had outgrown her prosthetic limbs and the family made a plea for help. In August 2011, Charlotte and her parents made a fourth trip to Camp No Limits, a camp for children with limb loss that also includes the parents, where she received physical therapy and learned to walk on new limbs. According to The New Zealand Herald the father stated that “the process would be an annual event, given Charlotte is still growing and therefore growing out of her prosthetics in a matter of a few months.”

During her 2013 stay at Camp No Limits, Charlotte mentored other young meningitis amputees.