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
BUDGET DIY: MUM-OF-FOUR ADDS OUTDOOR LOO LIKE BECKHAMS FOR JUST £60
A mother-of-four has revealed how, like the Beckhams, she’s added an outside toilet to her home .
WINKING SQUIRREL
BASKING in smug satisfaction, a confident squirrel gives a wink to the camera .
LOOK, NO HANDS! MAN CONTROLS VEHICLE USING HIS BRAIN
A Birmingham man inspired by sci-fi film Wall-E, has created a one- wheeled vehicle, controlled by signals from his BRAIN .
RING OF FIRE ECLIPSE IN OZ
THIS RING of fire in the sky is the annular solar eclipse that wowed our cousins down-under .
RESTLESS BEAR CUB
An adorable black bear cub struggles to find the perfect spot for an afternoon nap as he wriggles around on the branch of a maple tree .
ADORABLE PENGUINS HATCH AT UK ZOO
HOPPING onto the scales, these adorable baby Humboldt penguins are ready for their first weigh-in .
GIRL BEATS ANOREXIA AFTER MUM PLANS FUNERAL
A teenager has beaten anorexia after becoming so ill that her mum planned her funeral .
THE LITTLE MER-WIFE: DISNEY-THEMED WEDDING CREATES A SPLASH
It’s the must-have for any true Disney fan: a Little Mermaid themed wedding .
ABANDONED CALIFORNIAN GOLD RUSH TOWN
A once bustling gold rush town in Mono County, California now stands completed deserted .
WOMAN REVEALS HER 9-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER SUFFERED HORRIFIC BURNS TO 20% OF HER BODY AFTER KNOCKING SCALDING BOTTLE WARMER OVER HERSELF AT DAYCARE
A mother-of-three has revealed how her nine-month-old daughter was severely burnt after knocking a scalding bottle warmer over herself at daycare .
CEMETERY FINES
A COUNCIL has come under fire for slapping fines on people’s GRAVESTONES for breaching petty regulations on pot plants .
BASHFUL ORANGUTAN
A young orangutan comes over all shy as she hides her face behind a broken bucket .