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.
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They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and for this greedy camel he can't get enough of his morning feed, as he gate crashes his owner's mealtime .
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SEA LIFE and greenery in one shot show nature at its very best .
BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .
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DIPPING his head into the vase of water, this little squirrel takes a refreshing break from an afternoon of eating .
THE CRAZE for mimicking the video game Streetfighter has spread to the streets of London .
An adorable little squirrel wakes from a nap and pops out his tongue for the camera .
FLOATING effortlessly on his back, this little otter laps up a rare glimmer of English spring sunshine .
Going for long rides through vast fields together, this twosome share an unbreakable bond .
