When most people think about Celine Dion, they automatically think of her beautiful singing voice. It certainly is true that she has brought a lot to the music industry, but she has also had her fair share of problems.
This includes losing the love of her life, her husband, and she has been heartbroken ever since. More recently, she was diagnosed with a disease that has left her unable to tour any longer.
Fans have been watching the difficulty she was facing for quite some time and were waiting for any news they could hear. Unfortunately, the health complications she was facing were quite severe, as she was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease, stiff-person syndrome.
Fans everywhere were broken over the unexpected diagnosis and were sending her love and well wishes. They were also looking for any more news they could find out about her condition and what may be coming down the road.
The first announcement about her postponement of an upcoming tour came in December 2022. She said: “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.”
She was still able to release a song just a few months later, which is also the title song for a movie starring Celine Dion.
She shared the news on April 13, 2023, on social media and we were able to see some clips of the upcoming movie.
She was also discussing some of the issues associated with the prognosis of stiff-person syndrome. There were plenty of questions that she and others had, but it has affected her ability to walk and use her vocal cords.
She did say that she was doing better after the diagnosis because she was getting the treatment she needed. She also admitted that the recovery was slower than she hoped.
“I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again. I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100%. 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,” the singer said.
Celine has always been one who tries to move forward and work through any difficulties she is facing. Her friends said her family had been her rock during the time that her husband died, and they are there for her through her health struggles.
As things continued to progress, her sister, Claudette Nealon, said that another one of her sisters was living with the family.
Claudette said: “When I call her and she’s busy, I speak to my sister Linda who lives with her and tells me that she’s working hard. She’s listening to the top researchers in the field of this rare disease as much as possible.”
“It’s innate to her, she’s disciplined in every area of her life… We can’t find any medicine that works, but having hope is important… I honestly think that she mostly needs to rest. She always goes above and beyond, she always tries to be the best and top of her game. At one point, your heart and your body are trying to tell you something. It’s important to listen to it,” Claudette added.
She went on to say: “I also said to her, ‘I know you’re an orphan, I know you’re a widow, I know you’re a single mom, but with everything you’ve given, you will receive in return.”
Her sister said that the illness is something that is largely unknown. There are spasms and it is impossible to control them. There is little they can do to support her or alleviate the pain.
Even though the prognosis seemed pessimistic, she did say that loving family members were doing what they could to help find something that would treat the illness. She also thanked the fans for supporting the star through all of these challenges.
“They love Céline, not only for the voice she has, but also for the human being she is. For the woman she has become, for the mother she has become. … We love her for the person she is,” Claudette remarked.
In the end, she said that words of encouragement would go a long way to help.
