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.
With no luck at the front of the bus, the deer runs around the center seats trying to escape through the window – THIS is the astonishing moment a DEER crashed through the front windshield of a bus before it went hysterically running around the vehicle .
DASHING through the snow, this little stoat is on the lookout for a Christmas feast .
LINED up one by one on a deer’s back, these little birds give their wings a break as they catch a ride across London .
SOARING through the air, this is the moment a hungry tawny owl arrives home with dinner .
WELCOME to the Temple of Zoom where you can “experience” sliding down a Mayan temple into shark infested waters .
A SHOCKING cartoon of a black man carrying bags saying‘’zippadydoohdah zip-up immigrant bags’ has appeared in a shop window and is being investigated by police .
A mining town in Australia’s outback appears to be completely deserted, but its residents have escaped the scorching heat by living in underground caves .
With stunning scenery and otherworldly vistas, Iceland’s rural beauty is inescapable – especially for Hollywood .
LOCATIONS bursting with vibrant greens and chestnut browns, these photographs capture the peaceful English countryside in all its glory .
A carefree bear cub reclines in the water with his feet raised in the air .
TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .