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
AUSTRALIAN TOWN LOCATED UNDERGROUND

A mining town in Australia’s outback appears to be completely deserted, but its residents have escaped the scorching heat by living in underground caves .

SUPER TOT – BIZARRE BABY PHOTO’S

Magical photos of your baby smiling for the first time are a priceless treasure for many a proud parent .

WOMAN'S SKIN TURNED SILVER AFTER TAKING NOSE DROPS

An American woman whose skin turned silver after using nose drops is warning people of the dangers of medicines containing the metal .

WOMAN REVEALS HOW BOTCHED £280 EYE LIFT LEFT HER SCARRED FOR LIFE

A woman has been left scarred for life after a botched eye lift burnt her eyelids .

SHIVERING SQUIRREL

THIS LITTLE squirrel tries to keep himself snug as snow starts to fall around him .

ROMANIAN CELEBRATES NEW JOB AS KNIFE THROWER'S ASSISTANT

A Romanian woman is celebrating her new job as a knife-thrower’s assistant after leaving her family behind to move to the UK .

CALIFORNIAN GHOST TOWN OF BODIE HILLS FROZEN IN TIME

An intrepid photographer travelled to the abandoned ghost town of Bodie in northern California to capture the historic buildings that are trapped in time .

FIRST FEMALE JACKASS

FROM KISSING an alligator on the nose to walking over broken glass, this fearless daredevil is a real life female JACKASS .

BABY WITH HALF-A-HEART MAKES THIS MOTHER'S DAY EXTRA SPECIAL

A miracle baby born with half-a-heart will make this Mother's Day extra special for her mum - as she was given just 24 hours to live .

BODYBUILDER SQUIRREL

FLEXING his muscles and staring straight at his opponent, this bodybuilding squirrel is the nuts .

TRANS WOMAN'S £100K TRANSFORMATION FUNDED BY ONLINE FANS

A transgender woman has revealed how she was able to fund her transformation using £100K gifted to her by online admirers .

1940’S PHOTOSHOPPING MACHINE

CREATED over 60 years ago, this weighty machine was the Photoshop of its time .