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
FROZEN WATERFALL
A DARING duo take their chances and scale this spectacular 82ft frozen waterfall before it collapses .
I BLAME MYSELF FOR MY DAUGHTER’S ANOREXIA
WENDY Randall, 16, from Kent is now training to be a bodybuilder after recovering from anorexia .
TEMPLE OF ZOOM
WELCOME to the Temple of Zoom where you can “experience” sliding down a Mayan temple into shark infested waters .
MYSTERY OF THE CROOKED COTTAGE
THIS is the fascinating abandoned house, complete with mystery portraits and homely items, that has been dubbed - crooked cottage .
CLOWNFISH OPENS WIDE TO REVEAL A CREEPY INTRUDER
A little clownfish opens its mouth to reveal a blood sucking intruder living on its tongue .
BIRD FISHING
DIVING down at a speed of 75mph, this is the moment a hungry osprey caught his prey .
BRITISH BEACH-LIFE SPLIT SHOTS
UNDERWATER and above-water seaside shots show the best of British beach-life .
MOUNT BROMO METEOR SHOWER
A SPECTACULAR array of stars fills the night sky as they soar over this active volcano .
MUM SPEAKS OUT AFTER EX TORTURED HER IN THREE HOUR ATTACK
A mum-of-two, who was scarred for life in a brutal attack at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, is now urging others to leave their abusive partners .
CHERNOBYL - 28 YEARS ON
TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .
GATEWAY TO THE UNDERWORLD
SPURTING water 20ft into the air, this is one well you wouldn't want to dip your bucket into .