TRAPPED IN THE BODY OF A 10 YR OLD: TEENAGE GIRL BORN WITHOUT HORMONES

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.

Other great stories
PELICANS CLASH OVER FOOD

LIFTING their heads high and bumping beaks, these aggressive pelicans clash over fish .

FALSE KILLER WHALE BEAMS AS HE CATCHES HIS LUNCH

Say cheese! This cheeky chappy isn’t in the mood to live up to his scary reputation as he is pictured here cracking a killer smile as he goes about his daily business .

MILEY MASH-UP

HOTSPOT MEDIA - MILEY MASH-UP: MILEY CYRUS’ naked wrecking ball vid has been lampooned in this side-spitting photo-mashup .

PRISON HOTEL

FOR most people, spending a night locked up in a cell would be undesirable .

APPY CAMPING: COOKING STOVE CHARGES SMARTPHONES

Here's a APPY solution that should brighten up a wet weekend away camping - a wood powered stove that also recharges your smartphone .

Korean Mass Games

These are the amazing close up pictures of North Korea's mass games - after photographers were previously banned from taking shots so close to the dazzling formation dances .

PLAYFUL TIGERS GET UP TO MISCHIEF

SPLASHING in the water and fighting in-between rocks, these energetic tigers enjoy their fun-filled morning .

LAZY LEOPARD

Sprawled out on top of a log, this sleeping leopard takes a relaxing break from his daily routine .

SMILEY GECKO POSES FOR THE CAMERA

WITH A wide smile plastered across his face, this little gecko is ready for his close up .

MICROBES OR FLAMINGOS

FLAMINGOS from above look like the pink algae they eat .

JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE

JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE A PERVERT who sexually assaulted two young girls on an allotment, telling them he was brushing spiders off them, has walked free from court – because jailing him was ‘unfair’ on his family .

RIVET-ING ALL WOOD TOWER

WELCOME to what could be the world's tallest TOTALLY wooden construction .