Celine Dion’s sister is sharing an update on the singer’s health as she continues to build strength amid her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome.
In a recent interview with Hello! Canada magazine, Claudette Dion said her sister is “doing everything to recover,” while they continue “crossing our fingers that researchers will find a remedy for this awful illness.”
In December 2022, Dion revealed that she was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition known as Stiff-Person. “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,” she said in an emotional video shared on Instagram at the time.
Stiff Person Syndrome is a rare, progressive neurological disorder that most commonly causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms in the torso, arms and legs.
“It’s an illness we know so little about,” Claudette said of Dion’s symptoms. “There are spasms — they’re impossible to control. You know [how] people often jump up in the night because of a cramp in the leg or the calf? It’s a bit like that, but in all muscles,” she says, dismayed. “There’s little we can do to support her, to alleviate her pain.”
In her December post, the “My Heart Will Go On” singer admitted that she has been “dealing with problems with my health for a long time,” and that, “Unfortunately, the 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.”
Following the diagnosis, Dion initially canceled her Courage World Tour European and U.K. dates, but in May, confirmed that all of her tour dates had been canceled through 2023 and 2024.
