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6 months ago
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Celine Dion was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome in 2022 and is opening up about how she’s learning to live with the rare autoimmune neurological disorder.
In a new interview, the Canadian singer discusses her health and says if she’ll return to touring.
“I’m well, but it’s a lot of work. I’m taking it one day at a time,” Dion told Vogue France. “I haven’t beat the disease, as it’s still within me and always will be. I hope that we’ll find a miracle, a way to cure it with scientific research, but for now I have to learn to live with it. So that’s me, now with Stiff Person Syndrome.”
She continued, “Five days a week I undergo athletic, physical and vocal therapy. I work on my toes, my knees, my calves, my fingers, my singing, my voice… I have to learn to live with it now and stop questioning myself. At the beginning I would ask myself: why me? How did this happen? What have I done? Is this my fault?”
Dion says she doesn’t have the answers as to why she got this illness and she only has two options, “Either I train like an athlete and work super hard, or I switch off and it’s over, I stay at home, listen to my songs, stand in front of my mirror and sing to myself. I’ve chosen to work with all my body and soul, from head to toe, with a medical team. I want to be the best I can be. My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again!”
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer says that it’s her family, children, and fans that keep her strong and is grateful she has the means to have good doctors and treatments, adding, “I have this strength within me. I know that nothing is going to stop me.”
Since being diagnosed with SPS, Dion has been largely kept out of the public eye. In February of this year, she made a surprise appearance at the Grammys and presented an award to Taylor Swift.
When asked about getting back on stage and touring again, Dion said, “I can’t answer that… Because for four years I’ve been saying to myself that I’m not going back, that I’m ready, that I’m not ready… As things stand, I can’t stand here and say to you: ‘Yes, in four months’ [I will return]. I don’t know… My body will tell me.”
She continued, “On the other hand, I don’t just want to wait. It’s morally hard to live from day to day. It’s hard, I’m working very hard and tomorrow will be even harder. Tomorrow is another day. But there’s one thing that will never stop, and that’s the will. It’s the passion. It’s the dream. It’s the determination.”
