‘For now I have to learn to live with it’
Céline Dion has been struggling with the so-called stiff-person syndrome for some time. Because of the disease, she has been in a lot of pain for over a year and a half, suffering from spasms and had to cancel performances. Yet the singer remains hopeful.
Disease
Céline Dion announced at the end of 2022 that she had to postpone part of her tour due to her health. “I can no longer sing in the way I am used to. That means that I will not be ready to resume my tour in February,” she said emotionally in December that year.
The singer suffers from the so-called stiff-person syndrome. The condition includes muscle spasms affecting her throat. As a result, Dion suffers from her vocal cords. The syndrome also limits the Canadian singer in everyday activities such as walking. There is no cure for stiff person syndrome. There is medication that can reduce pain and spasms.
Performances
Last December, her sister Claudette Dion told TMZ that there is little chance she will ever be on stage again: “She no longer has any control over her muscles.” Yet the singer herself still seems to remain optimistic, as she recently said in an interview with Vogue France.
Céline calls living with the incurable neurological condition that causes spasms “a lot of work.” She explains: “Five days a week I do athletics, physical and vocal therapy. I work on my toes as well as my knees, calves, fingers, singing, voice…
Hard work
When she was diagnosed with SPS, she blamed herself. She kept wondering why this was happening to her. “Life doesn’t give you answers. You just have to live it! I have this disease for an unknown reason,” the singer said. She says she has two choices. “Either I train like an athlete and work super hard, or it’s over.”
“I have chosen to work with a medical team with all my body and all my soul, from head to toe,” says the brave Céline. “I want to be my best self. My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again. I know nothing will stop me.”
Miracle
She also remains hopeful about her medical situation. “I hope a miracle happens. That they will find a way to cure it with scientific research, but for now I have to learn to live with it,” says Céline.
Source: RTL Boulevard, Nouveau | Image: NL Image
