World-famous Canadian singer Celine Dion has been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder that results in spasms and makes it difficult for her to sing, she said in an emotional post on social media.
Dion said on Thursday night that she has been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, an extremely rare disorder that affects one to two people per million and causes progressive stiff muscles.
“While we are still learning about this rare condition, we now know that it is what’s been causing all the spasms that I’ve been having,” she wrote.
Dion also posted a video on Instagram saying: “I have been dealing with my health problems for a long time.”
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The global music star, who has sold more than 220-million albums worldwide in her lifelong career, has already postponed 17 European concerts scheduled to take place in February, March and April 2023.
The concerts, planned for several countries including the UK, Germany, Poland and Switzerland, as part of Dion’s Courage World Tour, were all moved to 2024. She also cancelled eight other performances scheduled for next summer.
The world tour, in support of Dion’s latest album of the same name, began in 2019 in Quebec City, Canada, but shows were cancelled due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In October 2021, Dion was also forced to cancel a residency in Las Vegas due to severe and persistent muscle spasms.
She said, however, that she has the full confidence in the doctors who are working on her health condition.
“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 the 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 must 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.”
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