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.
The beds are consumed by moss instead of customers at this abandoned hotel .
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .
GIANT garden sculptures don't beat about the bush .
Like a scene from a fairytale, THOUSANDS of fireflies create an enchanting glow as they dance in a forest .
PEACE and love filled the 1980’s Glastonbury fields as relaxed festival goers kicked back and soaked up the atmosphere .
15-foot-long great white sharks on the hunt, in False Bay, South Africa - SHOCK and awe pictures of 15-foot-long great whites on the hunt will leave you stunned .
While often referred to as the kings of the jungle, gorillas - for all their might - are notorious hydrophobes .
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .
SNUGGLED up in the hay away from the elements, this adorable hoglet has sought solace with a familiar friend .
SHOWING off her best assets for the camera, this cheeky orangutan is in the mood for love, puckering up her lips to blow the biggest kiss she can .
THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .
WITHOUT A care in the world, this little snow monkey puts his feet up and settles in for a snooze .