Celine Dion's sister shares sad health update on her rare illness
Celine has Stiff Person Syndrome
Last updated 21st Dec 2023
In April 2022, Celine Dion announced that her European 'Courage' tour dates would be moving due to health issues. Later that year, the singer revealed to her fans she suffers from a rare neurological disorder called Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), and her sister has now updated fans further.
In an interview with a Canadian French-language outlet, 7 Jours, Claudette Dion has now revealed Celine sadly "doesn't have control of her muscles".
She explained: "What pains me is that she has always been disciplined. She always worked hard.
"The vocal cords are muscles, and the heart is also a muscle. This is what comes to get me," Claudette continued. The singer's sister also revealed that despite the condition being very rare, and therefore not having much research into it, her fans are still behind her, and she regularly receives messages and gifts.
Just over a year ago, Celine shared a video to her Instagram page on 8th December 2022, explaining that she has been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), which causes her muscles to tense uncontrollably and explains the spasms she has been experiencing for months.
In the video, she addressed her fans saying: "Hello everyone, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reach out to you. I miss you all so much and can’t wait to be on stage talking to you in person.
"I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time and it's been really difficult for me to face my challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through.
"Recently I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called the Stiff Person Syndrome which affects 1 in a million people. While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what’s been causing all the spasms I’ve been having. Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I'm used to."
She gave an update of her 'Courage Tour saying: "It hurts me to tell you today that this means I won’t be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February.
"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 help. I'm working hard with my sports medicine therapist every day to build back my strength and my ability to perform again but I have to admit it’s been a struggle.
"All I know is singing it’s what I’ve done all my life and it's what I love to do the most. I miss you so much. I miss seeing all of you being on the stage performing for you."
She continued: "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. This is my focus and I'm doing everything I can to recuperate.
"I want to thank you so much for your wishes and love and support on my social media. This means a lot to me."
Fans and friends have rushed to support the singer, taking to the comments to write messages of support. One person wrote: 'Your contributions to the music industry are priceless, you inspire so many across the globe. I pray for healing and recovery. Take all the time you need to recover', with another adding: 'We love you forever ❤️🙌'.
A third wrote: 'We love you Celine, get some rest. We’ll be waiting for you. Get better soon ❤️'.
Celine first shared her health issues in October 2021, when she announced the cancellation of her Las Vegas show. In January 2022, she cancelled her remaining US tour dates and revealed she was suffering from 'severe and persistent' muscle spasms.
Our thoughts are with Celine at this time.