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.
WELCOME to the pretty 122-inch-tall red dwelling that lays claim to the title of the UK's smallest house .
SKIPPING on the spot, an adorable little owl embraces the 'running man' challenge .
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
VIBRANT bursts of colour fill the screen as beautiful flowers blossom in these time-lapse videos .
A pair of snarling foxes go paw-to-paw and brawl after unexpectedly crossing paths .
FROM KISSING an alligator on the nose to walking over broken glass, this fearless daredevil is a real life female JACKASS .
Fishermen in Myanmar have perfected an unusual fishing technique by carefully balancing on one leg .
LYING back in the snow, these two polar bears share a cuddle as they call time out on playtime .
PUSHING the diver out of his way, this little sea turtle shows he’s not in the mood for photographs .
With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .
Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .
