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.
ONCE A doctor’s surgery, family home and office, an array of medical equipment is scattered throughout this abandoned home .
An artist has transformed traditional Thanksgiving dinners into mini-masterpieces .
A miracle baby has overcome a one-in-five-million brain condition – after a blob of glue saved his life .
SITTING quietly at the edge of the lake, these two baby bears watch and learn as the adults hunt for fish .
This was the chaotic scene when the driver of a 4x4 vehicle became periously trapped under his vehicle for an HOUR when it overturned after a crash on a busy motorway .
One sheepdog is taking a well-deserved rest after giving birth to a whole WHEELBARROW-FUL of puppies .
An eight-year-old boy who lost his legs and left hand to meningitis is standing tall after learning to walk on his prosthetic limbs .
BEHIND the doors of this building, with its stacks of mattresses and discarded remains of wheelchairs, lies another victim of austerity cuts .
A weightlifter has lost a whopping 12st after swapping biscuits for biceps .
If you tune into primetime coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games, you’re most likely going to see London’s new Aquatic Center from many angles as athletes from all around the globe compete for the top spot on the podium .
Struggling home entertainment chain Blockbuster has been slammed for advertising its workers' jobs while they are still in them in order to scare them into working harder .
THIS unique holiday accommodation allows you to enjoy a full Flintstones experience .