Celine Dion ‘no longer has muscle control’ amid incurable battle with stiffness syndrome – while her sister reveals the singer still ‘dreams’ of returning to the stage one day
Legendary Canadian singer Celine Dion no longer has control over her muscles, according to her older sister Claudette.
A year after the My Heart Will Go On hitmaker had to cancel her world tour last December, her sibling, 74, suggested it could be a while before Celine, 55, returns to the stage following her battle with a neurological disorder. condition called ‘stiff person’. syndrome.
Celine’s condition, which is progressive and incurable, causes the body to attack its own nerve cells, which seriously affects mobility.
‘She works hard, but she has no control over her muscles. What breaks my heart is that she has always been disciplined,” Claudette told 7 Jours. She has always worked hard. Our mother always told her, “You’re going to do well, you’re going to do well.”
She continued: “It is true that in our dreams as well as in hers, the goal is to return to the stage. In what capacity? Don’t know.’
Health battle: Legendary Canadian singer Celine Dion no longer has ‘control of her muscles,’ according to her sister Claudette; seen in 2019
Although research into the condition is ongoing, its rarity means progress has been slow.
Claudette added, “The vocal cords are muscles, and the heart is a muscle too. This is what’s coming for me. Because it’s a 1 in a million case, the scientists didn’t do that much research because it didn’t affect that many people.”
Celine’s charity, Fondation Maman Dion, has been inundated with messages of support for the star.
Claudette said: ‘Some people have lost hope because they are all diseases that are not well known. If you only knew how many calls the Foundation gets about Celine! People tell us they love her and are praying for her. She gets so many messages, presents and blessed crucifixes.”
Claudette previously revealed that despite working with “the best researchers in the field,” her sister has seen little improvement in her health.
She told Le Journal de Montreal: “We can’t find any medicine that works, but having hope is important.”
In October, Claudette said Celine was not yet dependent on a wheelchair to get around and was still planning to perform again.
An icon: A year after the My Heart Will Go On hitmaker had to cancel her world tour last December, her sibling, 74, suggested it could be a while before Celine, 55, returns to the stage following her battle with a neurological condition called stiff person syndrome (pictured in 2012)
Celine’s condition, which is progressive and incurable, causes the body to attack its own nerve cells, seriously affecting mobility; seen in 2019
People suffering from Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) can turn patients into ‘human statues’, causing them to have difficulty walking or talking.
The condition, which is thought to affect only one in a million people, can also lead to spasms that generate enough force to break bones.
Typically, patients are diagnosed around the age of 30-50, and they are usually women.
The star first announced her diagnosis in December 2022 via a tearful Instagram post, and months later she canceled her world tour, which was set to kick off in late 2023.
In September, a video surfaced on YouTube titled “Celine Dion’s Family Reveals How She Is Dying,” in which an unknown narrator says her terminal illness is “progressing very quickly.” The video has since been republished on TikTok, where it has been viewed more than 430,000 times.
The clip sparked rumors on social media that the Grammy award-winning artist is now wheelchair-bound and struggles to move.
However, Celine’s sister denied this is the case.
‘I know she is morally and mentally strong. She’s not depressed at all… she really has a zest for life. We will get through this,” her sister Claudette told the French-language site showbiz.net.
As for the rumors, Claudette said, “Why do they say she’s in a wheelchair? Why do they say she had cancer? Why are you inventing?
Despite Celine Dion’s pain, she is not giving up plans to return to the stage, according to her sister.
Earlier this year, Claudette also told showbiz.net that the icon is recovering in Denver and closely monitoring her doctors’ care plan because she “wants to come back, that’s for sure.”