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
TRIG-OF -THE- EYE STREET ART
At first glance what might look like ordinary rusty bridge and road railings, are in fact amazing works of art .
36 YEAR AGE GAP COUPLE MISTAKEN FOR DAD AND DAUGHTER
A couple from Bristol have told that they are often mistaken for father and daughter because of their huge 36 year age gap .
BRAVE LEOPARD BEFRIENDS A CROC
A brave leopard kicks back and relaxes in the sunshine - just inches from an enormous crocodile .
OWLS PLAY TUG-OF-WAR
TUGGING on the wing of his sibling, this needy owl is after some attention .
MOTHER'S FEAR AFTER SUICIDE DAUGHTER’S STALKER RELEASED
A mother is living in fear after the stalker she holds responsible for her daughter's death is back on the streets, after serving just one year in prison .
MILLION DOLLAR MARILYN - WOMAN MAKES FORTUNE AS LOOKALIKE
A former cosmetic rep who swapped make-up for a career as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike has pocketed a staggering $4million (£2,630,000) as a full-time doppelgänger .
BEATEN TO A PULP FOR MY TRANS-FORMATION, BUT I WON’T LET THE BULLIES GET ME DOWN
Ashlee, 20, has always known that she was supposed to be a girl .
SNEAKY OTTER
A young otter wades through a lake with his eyes set on an older rival’s fish .
NHS CALL HANDLER SAVES OWN LIFE TO WALK DOWN THE AISLE
An NHS 111 call handler who was forced to save her own life after contracting sepsis has walked down the aisle at her dream wedding .
EXERCISING OTTERS
A group of otters put on a show of aqua aerobics, as they raise their flippers perfectly in sync .
ABANDONED HOBBIT HOUSE
IN THE not so MISTY MOUNTAINS of Wiltshire, there lies an abandoned hobbit house .
SIBLING RIVALRY
SURROUNDED by a snowstorm, these young polar bears battle the elements - as well as each other .