Celine Dion ‘no longer has control over muscles’ amid singer’s battle with incurable stiff-person syndrome
CELINE Dion no longer has control over her muscles as she continues to battle incurable stiff-person syndrome.
The singer’s sister Claudette has issued an update on Celine‘s fight against the extremely rare neurological disorder.
Claudette said: “She’s working hard, but she doesn’t have control over her muscles. What breaks my heart is that she’s always been disciplined.
“She’s always worked hard. Our mother always told her ‘You’re going to do it well, you’re going to do it properly.”
Speaking to 7 Jours, Claudette added: “It’s true that in both our dreams and hers, the goal is to return to the stage. In what capacity? I don’t know.”
In January My Heart Will Go On hitmaker Celine was forced to her European leg of her wold tour after being diagnosed with SPS before later axing all of the dates.
And Claudette revealed that, because vocal chords are also a muscle, Celine currently has no control over her voice.
She said: “The vocal cords are muscles, and the heart is also a muscle. This is what comes to get me. Because it’s 1 out of a million case, the scientists haven’t done that much research because it didn’t affect that many people.”
There is currently no cure for the condition, which can leave sufferers as “human statues”, sometimes unable to walk or talk.
Canadian superstar Celine previously told her fans she is trying to do what she can to minimise the symptoms.
She explained: “Hello everyone, I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reach out to you. I miss you all so much and can’t wait to be on stage talking to you in person.
“As you know I’ve always been an open book and I wasn’t ready to say anything before but I’m ready now.
“I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time and it’s been really difficult for me to face my challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through.
“Recently I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called the stiff person syndrome which affects one in a million people.
“While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what’s been causing all the spasms I’ve been having.”
After being forced to cancel her live shows, a defiant Celine insisted to fans that she will be back.
She said: “It’s not fair to you to keep postponing the shows, and even though it breaks my heart, it’s best that we cancel everything now until I’m really ready to be back on stage again.
“I want you all to know, I’m not giving up… and I can’t wait to see you again!”