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.
LIKE SUPERMAN carrying a slimy Lois Lane through the air this frog is treating its mate to a flying lesson .
This longhorn beetle demon-strates a dark side as it looks just like the devil .
A Romanian photographer has captured the unique patterns of hundreds of human eyes in a series of striking macro shots .
A brave praying mantis makes an unusual friend in an Oriental garden lizard .
EXPERTLY camouflaged, this clever panther chameleon knows how to catch its prey by surprise .
A BABY-faced burglar is starting a seven year stretch in custody after being nabbed by a Jaffa Cake .
A BRITISH couple are the first to tie the knot inside an enormous GLACIER in Iceland .
ALL IS not as it seems in these deceptive cityscapes .
Blonde teen Jess Stubbs has certainly got girl power - as Britain’s youngest TRUCKER .
SNEAKING slowly into the water, this Bengal tiger plans a vicious attack on three unsuspecting deer .
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 .