She is about to start driving and soon will be able to legally buy alcohol and get married, but Poppy Webb-Jones still looks and thinks like a ten-year-old girl. Unlike other 17-year-olds, Poppy is more interested in Hannah Montana and Justin Bieber than wearing make-up, experimenting with boys or staying out late. This is due to a rare condition which means she was born without any hormones, meaning she has never gone through puberty, never had a growth spurt and never thrown a teenage tantrum. To many parents of teenagers, Poppy must sound like the perfect child, but unbeknown to her or her mother Karen Webb-Meek, her condition posed a deadly risk to her health throughout her whole childhood. Poppy was born with a condition called panhypopituitarism meaning she lacks most of the hormones essential for life. Hypopituitarism is the decreased secretion of one or more of the eight hormones normally produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. If there is decreased secretion of most pituitary hormones, the term panhypopituitarism (pan meaning "all") is used. Poppy has no growth hormone, meaning her bones stopped growing around the age of 11, and she has no thyroxine, which regulates the metabolism and energy levels. In addition she has no oestrogen, which controls the onset of puberty and the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
AN ANGRY giraffe gave a bush-riding cyclist a scare when he stomped his £2K bike into the dirt .
LYING flat out on his back, this little meerkat makes the most of the English sunshine .
WELCOME to the 125 decibel boombox bus that could damage your hearing if you party too close to its giant speakers .
This is the amazing moment two white-tailed kites take an in-flight meal - exchanging prey at 100 foot high in mid air .
A SHOCKING cartoon of a black man carrying bags saying‘’zippadydoohdah zip-up immigrant bags’ has appeared in a shop window and is being investigated by police .
LIKE A living balloon this baitball of sardines is ready to burst when threatened by a pointy nosed sailfish .
STARING intently into the camera, a polar bear appears to be lost in thought while relaxing in the snow .
Most people bend over backwards to keep children entertained, but this baboon show us how it’s done .
These are the faces of orphans suffering from the horrifying effects of chemical warfare .
This cheeky chappie is getting into all kinds of monkey business as he enjoys cooling off on a scorching hot day .
A cheeky gorilla sticks her tongue out and plays up for the camera at Bronx Zoo .