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.
THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .
Swimming side by side with divers, these manatees will do anything they can to stay warm .
Fetching a tiny carrot and a head-shaped snowball, a red squirrel builds the perfect snowman .
A BROWN bear wades through waters in Alaska and waits for his lunch .
NEW DELHI, A woman activist of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party crosses a police barricade near the residence of ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi during a protest against the recent rape of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi, India, April 21, 2013 .
HUNDREDS of hot air balloons decorate the sky above Turkey as the rising sun illuminates the spectacular scenery below .
Enjoying life’s little pleasures is something that many struggle to do .
A couple celebrated tying the knot with a spectacular Alice in Wonderland-themed wedding reception .
AN ADORABLE one-eyed kitten has been dubbed the 'pirate cat' because of his pirate-like facial expressions .
BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .
SKIPPING on the spot, an adorable little owl embraces the 'running man' challenge .
A disabled sheep is enjoying a new fleece of life after receiving a specially-designed wheelchair .