Singer Celine Dion He had to cancel the concerts he had scheduled for 2023 and 2024 for health reasons that made it impossible for him to go on stage. He talks about it now in his recently released documentary film I am Celine Dion.
In 2022, the artist reported through a video posted on her social networks that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS)in English Stiff-Person Syndromea rare neurological disease.
“I have recently been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder that affects one person in a million. “We are still learning about this strange condition, but we now know that this is what has been causing all the spasms I have been having,” Céline Dion said in the video.
He also explained that the spasms were affecting all aspects of his life, not just his professional life: “Sometimes they even make it difficult for me to walk and I’m not allowed to use my vocal cords either. like I did before.”
Two weeks after releasing the documentary, the artist shared her experience of how he explained the diagnosis to his three children: “I let them know: ‘you lost your dad, [pero] Mom has a different illness. I’m not going to die“It’s something I’m going to learn to live with,” he said.
Now, with this documentary film, Céline Dion aims to give visibility to the rigid person syndrome so that society stops considering her a weird illness.
“As I find my career back, I realize how much I missed being able to see my fans. While I’ve been away, I wanted to document this part of my life to raise awareness about this unknown disease and help those who share this diagnosis,” the artist said in a social media post.
What is rigid person syndrome, the disease that Céline Dion suffers from?
Stiff person syndrome is a central nervous system disorder which generates progressive and intense stiffness or numbness of the muscle, according to the Mayo Clinic. Above all, this disease affects the spine and legs, causing painful muscle spasms.
“It is often associated with muscle spasmswhich can be quite severe. These can cause falls, pain and significant disability,” explains Dr. Emile Sami Moukheiber of the Stiff Person Syndrome Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine in an interview with CNN“Falls due to severe spasms are very common,” adds the expert.
According to Moukheiber, people with stiff person syndrome also often suffer from anxiety“and that anxiety is actually fed by the physical ailments of the disease that people may have,” he clarifies.
