Celine Dion has revealed that she has a rare and degenerative neurological illness that will leave her paralysed. The singer has an incurable disease that is causing her muscles to contract, meaning she will eventually be unable to walk or talk.
Celine, who sand My Heart Will Go On from the Titanic soundtrack, broke the news to her fans on Instagram. She revealed she has been having spasms and the condition alters her voice.
She has had to cancel her European tour. The 54-year-old wrote: "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.
"As you know I’ve always been an open book and I wasn’t ready to say anything before but im ready now. I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time and its 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."
She added: "Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal chords to sing the way I'm used to. 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 bac 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 its 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.
"I always give 100 percent when I do my show but my condition is now 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 im 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.
"Take care of yourselves. Be well. I love you guys so much and I really hope I can see you again real soon."
In January this year Celine Dion cancelled the North American dates on her tour, three months after she had to cancel the start of her Las Vegas comeback residency.
A statement on her website said that Celine 'recently has been treated for severe and persistent muscle spasms which are preventing her from performing, and her recovery is taking longer than she hoped. Her medical team continues to evaluate and treat the condition."
Stiff-person syndrome (SPS), also known as stiff-man syndrome (SMS),is a rare neurologic disorder of unclear cause characterized by progressive rigidity and stiffness. The stiffness primarily affects the truncal muscles and is superimposed by spasms, resulting in postural deformities. Chronic pain, impaired mobility, and lumbar hyperlordosis are common symptoms.
SPS occurs in about one in a million people and is most commonly found in middle-aged people. A small minority of patients have the paraneoplastic variety of the condition. Variants of the condition, such as stiff-limb syndrome which primarily affects a specific limb, are often seen.
SPS was first described in 1956. Diagnostic criteria were proposed in the 1960s and refined two decades later. In the 1990s and 2000s the roles of antibodies in the condition became more clear.
Benzodiazepine-class drugs are the most common treatment; they are used for symptom relief from stiffness. Other common treatments include baclofen, intravenous immunoglobin and rituximab.
University College London said the condition stiff person syndrome affects people, mainly in their 40s and 60s, with persistent spasms in their lower limbs and torso.
Sensory stimulation such as noise and light touch can also bring on severe spasms.
Respiration can be affected in advance cases of the disorder and spasms could become constant.
Earlier this year, Dion apologised to fans for cancelling and rescheduling a string of European tour dates as she battles health issues.
Dion said then she was experiencing muscle spasms but is “doing my very best to get back to the level that I need to be so that I can give 100% at my shows”.
She already had to reschedule tour dates during the Covid pandemic.
Dion has had two UK number ones with Titanic hit My Heart Will Go On and Think Twice.
