Céline Dion has opened up about an extremely rare, unfortunate and dangerous medical condition — which won’t just affect her career going forward.
But her life as well.
In a heartbreaking video posted to her Instagram account in both English and French, the Canadian artist said she’s been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological disease that can cause debilitating muscle spasms.
This condition will force the legendary singer to postpone and cancel a series of upcoming concert dates.
“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,” Dion wrote in the caption of the post.
“It hurts me to tell you that I won’t be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February.”
Dion then said in the video itself:
“Recently, I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological condition called stiff-person syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people.
“While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know that this is what has been causing all of the spasms that I’ve been having.”
Dion is a five-time Grammy Award winner and one of the most successful solo artists of all-time.
The superstar first canceled her tour because of the COVID-19 pandemic and then again in January due to health reasons relating to this condition… as we now know.
In April, she updated fans that plans for a 2022 tour would be rescheduled to 2023.
According to the Stiff Person Syndrome Foundation, the condition affects the central nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord.
“Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life,” Dion continued in her video.
“Sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.”
Dion — who has three sons, René-Charles, 21, and 11-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy with her late husband René Angélil — went on to note that she has “a great team of doctors working alongside me to help me get better.”
When it comes to her profession, she hopes this isn’t goodbye.
“All I know is singing,” she said. “It’s what I’ve done all my life. And it’s what I love to do the most.”
In the end, the singer became most emotional while expressing her adoration for her fans.
“I miss you so much. I miss seeing all of you,” she said.
“Being on the stage. Performing for you. I always give 100 percent when I do my shows, but my condition is not allowing me to give you 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. This is my focus and I’m doing everything I can to recuperate. I want to thank you so much for your encouraging wishes of love and support on my social media.
“This means a lot to me.
“Take care of yourselves. Be well. I love you guys so much and I really hope I can see you again real soon.”
S