Céline Dion suffers from stiff person syndrome. She tells a US broadcaster how much the illness limits her life.
Céline Dion has shared moving words about her battle with stiff person syndrome. In 2022, the singer was diagnosed with the rare autoimmune disease and made it public after she had to cancel her “Courage” world tour. After that, she initially went into hiding. Now she has spoken about her life with the disease to a US broadcaster. The media service “ET online” has published the first excerpts.
The fact that the disease, which leads to a disturbance of motor function in the form of muscle hardening and spasms, attacks her vocal cords (“her instrument”, as the artist says) is what affects her most: “It’s like someone is choking you! It’s like someone is pressing on your larynx in this way,” Dion tells journalist Hoda Kotb in an exclusive interview for “NBC Nightly News” that will be broadcast on June 11. She puts both hands around her neck and imitates strangulation.
There is no cure
Just in December, her sister Claudette Dion had alarmed with a health update: “She works hard, but she has no control over her muscles.” Céline Dion had consulted “the best researchers in this field,” but they “cannot find any medication that works.”
Now the “My Heart Will Go On” singer herself reports that she is a passionate cook. But the chronic syndrome causes her fingers and hands to suddenly cramp “in one position” and she can no longer release them, making cooking impossible. Stiff person syndrome can also occur in other parts of the body, such as the stomach, spine or ribs. “I once had broken ribs because sometimes, when the cramps are very severe, bones can break,” says Dion.
Céline Dion is planning her comeback
The Canadian’s greatest wish is to be able to perform again. In March 2024, the five-time Grammy winner resolutely announced that she would “one day be back on stage and live as normal a life as possible.” The musician’s health problems are revealed in the documentary “I Am: Céline Dion,” which will be available on Amazon Prime Video from June 25. “It’s not hard to do a show. It’s hard to cancel one,” the 56-year-old sighs in the trailer for the streaming format. “If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl. But I won’t stop!”
Source: Stern

I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.