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
STREET FIGHTER CRAZE SPREADS TO LONDON

THE CRAZE for mimicking the video game Streetfighter has spread to the streets of London .

BABY ELEPHANT HAS FUN IN THE SUN

SPLASHING around in a paddling pool, this little elephant soaks up the sunshine .

BOXING DAY SQUIRRELS

BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .

MONKEY BUSINESS

GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .

MESMERIZING STAR TRAILS

MESMERIZING night sky photographs offer a spellbinding look at the stars .

SNOOZING SEAL PUP

RESTING his weary head on his flipper, this little seal pup takes a much needed nap after an afternoon of strenuous yoga .

ANCIENT ABANDONED WEBSITES THAT STILL WORK TODAY

A host of websites that are almost twenty years old are collecting a cult following thanks to their retro appeal .

HITCHHIKING BIRDS

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 .

NAKED SLACKLINERS TACKLE NEW CHALLENGES

BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .

SIBLING RIVALRY

SURROUNDED by a snowstorm, these young polar bears battle the elements - as well as each other .

MISCHIEVOUS FOX CUBS

A mischievous fox cub demonstrates his playful side by biting his sibling’s tail .

GATEWAY TO THE UNDERWORLD

SPURTING water 20ft into the air, this is one well you wouldn't want to dip your bucket into .