Celine Dion Tearfully Reveals She Has Rare & Incurable ‘Stiff Person Syndrome’ Disease: Watch
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After keeping quiet about her health issues for quite some time, Celine Dion revealed her Stiff Person Syndrome diagnosis and announced the cancellation of her upcoming tour.
Celine Dion, 54, has cancelled the upcoming 2023 European dates of her Courage world tour due to her ongoing health issues. She finally revealed her health diagnosis, which is an incurable disease called Stiff Person Syndrome. Celine “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reach out to you,” Celine said in an Instagram video. “I miss you all so much and I can’t wait to be on stage talking to you in person. As you know, I’ve always been an open book and I wasn’t ready to say anything before. But I’m ready now. I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through. Recently, I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people.”
Celine explained that the Stiff Person Syndrome has been causing her to have spasms, which has affected her “daily life,” from walking to being able to use her vocal cords to sing. She then went on to confirm that she’s not ready to restart her tour in Europe, which was meant to kick off in Feb. 2023. “I have a great team of doctors working alongside me to help me get better, and my precious children, who are supporting me and giving me hope,” Celine assured fans. “I’m working hard with my sports medicine therapist every day to build back my strength and ability to perform again.”
Since Stiff Person Syndrome is so rare, not much is known about the disease. In fact, there are fewer than 5,000 people living with the syndrome in the United States, according to WEB M.D. Stiff Person Syndrom “is a progressive autoimmune disorder that affects the central nervous system, mostly the brain and spinal cord,” according to the medical site. Those with SPS often experience stiff muscles, as well as muscle spasms. “Sometimes, these muscle spasms can be so strong that they can fracture your bones,” WEB M.D. reports. “They continue until the stimulus that provokes them is gone and your muscles can slowly begin to relax.”
The stiffening of the muscles generally begins in the torso and gradually works into the limbs, according to WEB M.D. The site says that the stiffness comes and goes at first, but eventually becomes constant. There has yet to be a confirmation of the cause of SPS, and there is still no cure. However, treatment includes focus on relieving the symptoms to allow for functioning that’s as close to normal as possible.
Still, she didn’t hide the fact this has been a “struggle” for her, especially since it’s kept her from doing the thing she loves the most: singing. Celine was near tears as she addressed her fans. “I miss you so much. I miss seeing all of you, being on the stage, performing for you,” she continued. “I always give 100 percent when I do my shows, but my condition is not allowing me to do that right now. For me to reach you again, I have no choice but to concentrate on my health at this moment and I have hope that I’m on the road to recovery. That is my focus and I’m doing everything that I can to recuperate.”
Celine had to cancel other tour dates earlier this year due to her intense muscle spasms. She also had to delay her latest Las Vegas residency stint back in the fall of 2021 due to health issues. However, in 2023, Celine will be on the big screen, as she stars in the new movie Love Again alongside Sam Heughan and Priyanka Chopra.
In Jan. 2016, Celine lost her husband, Rene Angelil, to throat cancer. She and Rene have three sons together: Rene-Charles, 21, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 12.