‘The vocal cords are muscles, and the heart is also a muscle. That’s what grabs me,” says sister Claudette.
Things have not been going well for singer Céline Dion for some time. The Canadian diva with the golden throat suffers from a rare neurological disorder, which has prevented her from appearing on stage for quite some time. Although it was hoped that with enough rest and the right medication she would get the disease under control, sister Claudette Dion has now shared some very bad news.
Seriously ill
At the end of last year, Céline Dion shared in an emotional video message that things were very wrong. “I was recently diagnosed with a very rare neurological disease called stiff person syndrome.” She then explains that this disease causes the spasms that she has been suffering from for a long time.
“Unfortunately, these spasms affect all aspects of my daily life – sometimes causing problems when I walk, or not being able to use my vocal cords to sing as I normally would,” she explained. In the same video message, Céline explained that she also had to cancel her long-awaited European tour, much to her sadness.
Last summer, sister Claudette also made herself heard in Le Journal de Montreal, and there was little positive to report then. For example, Claudette shared that no medication had yet been found that worked. “But keeping hope is important,” she said optimistically at the time.
Deterioration
Yet it now seems that things are getting worse for Céline. In conversation with the Canadian site 7 Jours, Claudette explains that Céline has no control over her muscles. “What hurts me is that she has always been disciplined. She has always worked hard. My mom always told her, ‘You’re going to do this well.’”
But there is a lot of fear and uncertainty associated with the disease. “The vocal cords are muscles, and the heart is also a muscle. That’s what grabs me,” Claudette reveals.
Rare
Unfortunately, little is known about stiff person syndrome. The disease is extremely rare and therefore little research has been done into it. In an earlier interview, Claudette already stated that Céline works closely with doctors and experts in the field of this nerve disease, but so far no progress has been made.
In her recent interview, Claudette explains that both Céline and the rest of the family dream of the diva being able to do what she loves most again: making her voice shine on stage. “But in what form? I don’t know,” said Claudette. The optimism that we detected in her earlier interview now seems to have diminished considerably. We remain hopeful that Céline and her medical team will soon find a way to get the condition under control.
Source: 7 Jours, NU.nl, Glamial archive | Image: BrunoPress
