In tearful videos posted to social media, international singer Celine Dion revealed that she has been diagnosed with a rare neurological illness that produces spasms and makes it impossible for her to sing.
Dion revealed on Thursday that she was given the incredibly rare diagnosis of stiff person syndrome, which affects one to two individuals per million and results in gradual muscle stiffness.
“While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what’s been causing all of the spasms that I’ve been having,” a visibly emotional Dion said in English in one of the videos. A second video was released in French.
“Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to,” said Dion, known for ballads including, It’s All Coming Back to Me Now, and, My Heart Will Go On.
“It hurts me to tell you today,” the 54-year-old continued in the tearful video shared on her Instagram page, her voice breaking, “that this means I won’t be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February.”
‼️ Celine Dion reschedules Spring 2023 shows to 2024, and cancels 8 of her summer 2023 shows. ‼️
"It hurts me to tell you that I won't be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February.” – Céline
Watch Celine’s message here 👉🏼https://t.co/7el0cJVM4I pic.twitter.com/C9I8NEL5bs
— Celine Dion (@celinedion) December 8, 2022
The Quebec singer, whose records have sold more than 220 million copies worldwide over the course of her decades-long career, postponed 17 European concerts on Thursday that were set to take place in February, March, and April of 2023.
As part of Dion’s Courage international tour, the concerts that were scheduled for a number of nations, including the UK, Germany, Poland, and Switzerland, were postponed until 2024. She also postponed eight other performances that were planned for the summer of 2019.
The Courage tour, in support of Dion’s latest album of the same name, began in 2019 in Quebec City, Canada, but several shows later were postponed or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She also had to postpone a residency in Las Vegas in October 2021 due to “severe and chronic muscle spasms.”
Dion said on Thursday that she had the support of her children and was working with a “wonderful team” of specialists after losing her spouse and longtime manager Rene Angelil to cancer in 2016.
“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 hope. I’m working hard with my sport medicine therapist every day to build back my strength and my ability to perform again,” she said in the video.
“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 it’s what I love to do the most.”
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in the United States, patients with stiff person syndrome may have inflexible muscles and be more sensitive to touch and sounds, which can result in muscle spasms.
“Abnormal postures, often hunched over and stiffened, are characteristic of the disorder. People with SPS can be too disabled to walk or move, or they are afraid to leave the house because street noises, such as the sound of a horn, can trigger spasms and falls,” the institute says on its website.