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
PET DOG WITH CANCER LEFT TO DIE

CCTV shows a dark figure dumping the dog- A pet dog suffering with cancer has been put down after being dumped at an animal rescue in what officials said is the worst abandonment of any animal they have witnessed .

COUPLE RECREATE ICONIC SCENES FROM THE NOTEBOOK

A Canadian couple celebrated their engagement by recreating iconic moments from the film The Notebook .

INCREDIBLE FOG CREATES GLOWING LANDSCAPES OVER TAIWAN

A blanket of fog is lit up by the colourful glowing lights of the city below .

CHEEKY CHIPMUNK

A chipmunk, with his cheeks full to bursting, has no intention of leaving with an empty stomach .

SPELLBINDING ENGLISH STAR TRAILS

A photographer has captured spellbinding images of stars swirling above the English countryside .

CHILD SHEPHERDS OF THE SIMIEN MOUNTAINS

CARRYING a fully grown goat on his back, this five-year-old boy is a child shepherd in the mountains of northern Ethiopia .

ADORABLE CHRISTMAS BABIES

WEARING tiny Christmas accessories, these adorable babies get into the spirit of the season .

SLEEPING IN THE WILDERNESS

SLEEPING within touching distance of wild African animals might not be everyone's idea of a relaxing break .

MILEY MASH-UP

HOTSPOT MEDIA - MILEY MASH-UP: MILEY CYRUS’ naked wrecking ball vid has been lampooned in this side-spitting photo-mashup .

WOMAN DIES AFTER TAXI STABBING

Court case starts today at Birmingham Crown Court .

ROAD-KILL CUDDLY TOYS

With their guts spewing and eyes hanging out, these are the cuddly toys children might be reluctant to curl up to .

SMILEY GECKO POSES FOR THE CAMERA

WITH A wide smile plastered across his face, this little gecko is ready for his close up .