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
ABANDONED TAVERN AND FARM SHOP

STOOD side by side next to a busy road, these buildings were once bustling with life .

HOP ON! FASHIONABLE FROG TRIES A SNAIL HAT ON FOR SIZE

FLAUNTING its new accessory, a fashionable green dumpy tree frog poses for the camera while wearing a SNAIL as a hat .

BABY ELEPHANT HAS FUN IN THE SUN

SPLASHING around in a paddling pool, this little elephant soaks up the sunshine .

ADORABLE BABY ORANGUTAN PLAYS WITH MUM

TUGGING at his exhausted mum's ears, a beautiful baby orangutan refuses to settle for a nap as he begins a game of peek-a-boo .

SLEEP PARALYSIS DREAMS TURNED REALITY

SITTING on a burning sofa unable to move, one man turns his terrifying dreams into reality .

MESMERISING FUNGI

With luminous colours and alien- like features, these magical mushrooms look like they belong on another planet .

PUPPY RUN OVER BY TRAIN GIVEN NEW LEASH OF LIFE

A tiny puppy who lost his front legs after being hit by a train has been given and new LEASH of life with a set of wheels .

ENDANGERED GORILLA BORN AT TWYCROSS ZOO

A proud gorilla mum welcomes her newborn baby western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species .

DO YOU WANT TO BUILD A SNOWMAN?

Fetching a tiny carrot and a head-shaped snowball, a red squirrel builds the perfect snowman .

VIBRANT WOODPECKER FEEDS HER YOUNG

A middle spotted woodpecker swoops into her nest and feeds her young in a forest in Trentino, Italy .

VICTORIAN TENNIS RULE BOOK REVEALS GAME PLAYED BY THREE

TENNIS was a game made for three according to the first Victorian rule book .

BENGAL TIGER PLANS ATTACK ON UNSUSPECTING DEER

SNEAKING slowly into the water, this Bengal tiger plans a vicious attack on three unsuspecting deer .