Legendary singer Celine Dion recently spoke about her experience with stiff-person syndrome, a rare autoimmune neurological disorder. Dion revealed that she initially kept her diagnosis news private because she was trying to understand her health issues.
The singer recalled that she first experienced the symptoms of the disorder when she was on her Taking Chances World Tour in 2008 and why she finally made the announcement of the same publicly years later in December 2022.
Celine Dion on why she publicly announced the news of her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis
A preview of an upcoming interview with Today’s Hoda Kotb was dropped on Monday, June 10, in which Celine Dion opened up about her experience with the rare stiff-person syndrome. The singer revealed she kept the news of her diagnosis hidden from the public as at the time she was figuring out what was happening with her health.
In the clip, Kotb said while interviewing the singer, “You said not telling the truth was too much to carry,” In response, The Power Of Love hitmaker replied, “What did you want me to say? ‘I have…’ what?… We did not know what was going on.”
At the time the singer started noticing the early signs of her rare SPS condition, her late husband, Rene Angelil, was undergoing treatment for throat cancer. She recalled, “I did not take the time I should have stopped, take the time to figure it out,” adding, “My husband as well was fighting for his own life, I had to raise my kids, I had to hide. I had to try to be a hero.”
The 56-year-old singer also shared that while she was trying to understand her health issues, she experienced emotional turmoil, stating, “Feeling my body leaving me, holding on to my own dreams.”
Celine Dion said she eventually decided to publicly tell the truth, saying, “I could not do this anymore… lying for me, the burden was too much. Lying to the people who got me where I am today, I could not do it anymore.”
Dion first experienced symptoms of the disorder, which causes severe muscle spasms, during her Taking Chances World Tour in 2008.
ALSO READ: I Am: Celine Dion Documentary First Look OUT Now, OTT Release Date Revealed; See Here
Celine Dion revealed the effect her SPS condition had on her voice
In a previously released clip from the upcoming interview, Celine Dion made a heartbreaking revelation about her SPS condition and how it has affected her voice. She described it as if “somebody is strangling you” and “pushing your larynx/pharynx.”
Dion further detailed how the symptoms affected her, “It feels like if I point my feet, they will stay in [that position]. It’s cramping, but it’s like in a position where you cannot unlock them. I have broken ribs at one point because, sometimes, when it’s very severe, it can break.”
I Am: Céline Dion documentary will be released on Prime Video on June 25.
