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.
FROM a HOLLYWOOD actress to the face of an innocent child, these are incredible drawings with an unlikely twist .
Like a scene from a fairytale, THOUSANDS of fireflies create an enchanting glow as they dance in a forest .
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and for this greedy camel he can't get enough of his morning feed, as he gate crashes his owner's mealtime .
This cheeky chappie is getting into all kinds of monkey business as he enjoys cooling off on a scorching hot day .
An adorable little squirrel wakes from a nap and pops out his tongue for the camera .
PRANKSTER Dom Joly was so livid when he was slapped with a parking ticket that he took to Twitter to vent his anger – only to discover he was the victim of his own gag! The comic got a taste of his own medicine when he was tricked by a fellow joker for the first time in a decade .
WITH THEIR adorable big round eyes and fluffy white fur, these baby seals are cute enough to melt any heart .
CLIMBING, falling and tugging on his weary mum, this little orangutan is up to all kinds of trouble .
Primed and ready for action, this collection of striking images from the battlefield could be mistaken for authentic photos taking during World War II .
A cricket perches on an unusual seat after crawling up the snout of a crocodile .
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 .
HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .