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
BATTY ABOUT BATMAN - MAN SPENDS £65K ON COLLECTION
Kevin Silva, 52 from Indiana in the USA, has spent an estimated £65K ($100K) on Batman trinkets over the years, and even keeps his 2,500-item haul in his very own basement 'Bat Cave' .
SPELLBINDING ENGLISH STAR TRAILS
A photographer has captured spellbinding images of stars swirling above the English countryside .
LEAPING WOOD MOUSE
LEAPING through the air this determined little mouse is on a mission for food .
THUG WHO BEAT UP SOLDIER JAILED FOR 9 YEARS
N evil mugger who battered a Birmingham old soldier and fled with just £40 has been jailed for nine years .
MAN DODGES DANGER TO COMMUTE ON PENNY FARTHING
Meet the Victorian gentleman who could not face sitting next to smelly commuters on the bus - so he dodges danger to go to work on a penny farthing .
MINI-CANE GUIDES BLIND LEXI
A BLIND school-girl whose growth has been stunted by a rare medical condition is finding her feet again with the help of a specially made mini-cane .
GATEWAY TO THE UNDERWORLD
SPURTING water 20ft into the air, this is one well you wouldn't want to dip your bucket into .
FROZEN BUBBLES CREATE STUNNING ICE CRYSTALS
A soap bubble lands on the frosty ground and creates a shimmering snow globe as crystals form around it .
HUNGRY WHITE TIGER DIVES FOR FOOD
This hungry white tiger has just one thing on her mind - to taste fresh meat .
VIBRANT TIME-LAPSE VIDEOS CAPTURE BLOSSOMING FLOWERS
VIBRANT bursts of colour fill the screen as beautiful flowers blossom in these time-lapse videos .
LETHAL BIRTHMARK NEARLY SUFFOCATES GIRL
HOTSPOT MEDIA - LETHAL BIRTHMARK NEARLY SUFFOCATES GIRL: Zoe Mitchell when she was two-weeks-old .
PLAYFUL OWL PLAYS HIDE AND SEEK
A cheeky owl fancies a game of hide and seek as it peeps out from behind a tree .