Celine Dion reveals diagnosis of rare and incurable Stiff-Person Syndrome

Singer Celine Dion is emotional in an Instagram video she shared on Thursday morning. She revealed that she has Stiff Person Syndrome. Her rare health condition led to the cancellation or any changes in the dates of her world tour.

Stiff Person Syndrome, or SPS, is a rare neurological disorder that affects only one in a million people. Sufferers experience progressive muscle stiffness and painful spasms throughout the body. As Johns Hopkins Medicine explains, those affected experience painful spasms due to sudden movement, cold temperature, or unexpected loud noises.

Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for SPS, and there are limits to treatment options. Managing SPS involves keeping track of environmental triggers to reduce symptoms and taking medications to reduce muscle spasms and anxiety. Despite these treatments, living with SPS can be difficult for those affected.

Celine Dion reveals that she has been diagnosed with an extremely rare progressive neurological disorder that leads to increasing stiffness.

Dion has been having spasms that leave her with walking difficulties and that impact her vocal cords. pic.twitter.com/k1m7ElxgTj

— Pop Base (@PopBase) December 8, 2022

Celine Dion shocked fans worldwide on Thursday when she shared a tearful video on her Instagram account. The singer announced her neurological disorder diagnosis. It forced her to postpone and cancel a series of upcoming concert dates. This news surprised many of Celine’s dedicated fans, who were eagerly awaiting these tour dates.

Dion, 54, wrote in the caption. “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. It hurts me to tell you that I won’t be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February.”

Celine Dion tours cancellations

Celine Dion shared that her planned European tour won’t be able to restart as expected because of her recent diagnosis. Notably, her staff re-scheduled all shows for spring this year to 2024. While her staff canceled all summer shows.

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A post shared by Céline Dion (@celinedion)

In addition, the Canadian pop singer, “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.”

Moreover, Dion’s condition, according to the Stiff Person Syndrome Foundation affects the brain and the spinal cord. “Patients can be wheelchair-bound or bed-ridden, unable to work and care for themselves. ”

They confirmed that the combination of neurological disease with autoimmune features can include symptoms like “hyper-rigidity, debilitating pain, chronic anxiety,” and muscle spasms “so violent they can dislocate joints and even break bones.”

Dion also said, “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.”

Dealing with the disorder

She has three sons with her late husband, René Angélil. Their sons are René-Charles, 21, and 11-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy. Dion added that she has “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.”

‼️ 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 five-time Grammy winner showed no signs of giving up in her fight to get back to singing. Through dedicated efforts with a sports medicine therapist, she is striving to regain her strength and restore her capability for performing.

Despite the difficulty of this challenge, Celine Dion continues to put all her energy into reclaiming her natural passion – singing. “All I know is singing,” said Celine. “It’s what I’ve done all my life. And it’s what I love to do the most.”

Celine Dion has had to extend her tour postponement due to the pandemic. After initially rescheduling the canceled tour in January due to this health condition, she announced in April that she’ll be pushing out all plans for a 2022 tour instead of rescheduling for 2023.

She announced thru a video post in April, “I’m doing my very best to get back to the level that I need to be so that I can give 100% at my shows because that’s what you deserve.”