Celine Dion is suffering from a serious and rare disease, which impacts her daily life. But the star “feels better”, said a close friend, and the hope of finding a cure is real.
See Celine Dion singing again, what an exceptional event! The Quebec star, who has captivated the world with her powerful voice and unforgettable performances for decades, had to put her career on hold because of the illness, which affects her voice and her body. Her presence at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games this Friday, July 26, 2024 is therefore an omen of hope for her and a sign that her state of health offers her a moment of breathing.
In 2021, Celine Dion revealed that she was suffering from a rare condition, which forced her to postpone and then cancel all of her concerts, including those of her Las Vegas residency. In December 2022, Celine shared an emotional video message on her social media, explaining that the neurological condition she was suffering from was Stiff Man Syndrome.
Stiff-person syndrome is a rare autoimmune disorder that affects the central nervous system. It is characterized by severe muscle spasms and progressive stiffness of the trunk and limb muscles. These symptoms can be debilitating and affect the quality of life of those affected. Attacks can be triggered by a variety of factors, such as stress or noise, and can make everyday movements extremely painful and difficult.
Celine Dion has always been a dedicated artist to her fans, but this illness has changed that. She has expressed deep sadness at not being able to perform on stage as she wanted. The constant pain and muscle spasms make rehearsals and performances extremely difficult. Treatments for stiff-man syndrome typically include medication to relieve symptoms and physical therapy to maintain mobility, but there is no definitive solution.
Despite these challenges, Celine Dion remains determined to fight the disease. She said she is working closely with her doctors and physical therapists to manage symptoms and regain as much mobility as possible. She also expressed gratitude to her fans for their unwavering support and understanding during this difficult time.
A career marked by exceptional energy
Celine Dion began her career at a young age. By the 1980s, she was already a rising star in Canada and Europe. Her international breakthrough came in the early 1990s with hits like “The Power of Love” and “My Heart Will Go On,” the theme from the movie Titanic. Her career has been marked by huge successes, prestigious awards, and world tours that have solidified her as an international superstar.
In 1999, Celine took a break from her career to care for her husband, René Angélil, who was battling cancer. René succumbed to the disease in 2016. Since then, the star has embarked on numerous projects, kept up a hectic work schedule in Las Vegas with regular concerts, before being struck by the disease.
Céline Dion has spoken very little about it for a long time. Since the announcement of her illness and the cancellation of all her concerts, the singer has kept herself out of the spotlight, the rare information about her state of health being released by her close friends in the media across the Atlantic. “She works hard, but she doesn’t have control of her muscles. What makes me sad is that she has always been disciplined. She has always worked hard,” Claudette Dion confided in particular last December to the Quebec media 7 days. And he added: “It’s certain that, in our dreams and in his, the idea is to return to the stage. In what state? I don’t know. The vocal cords are muscles, and the heart is also a muscle. (…) As it’s one case in millions, scientists haven’t done that much research, because it didn’t affect that many people.”
A daily life marked by illness
The diva has however agreed to reveal her daily life in a documentary on Prime Video on June 25, 2024, entitled I am Celine Dion. “She showed herself without make-up, in a very authentic way,” director Irene Taylor described to AFP on this occasion. “In her joys, as in her sorrows.” One of the most striking scenes in this film is the one where Celine Dion is in the middle of a crisis, immobile and unable to speak, or another where she is seized by spasms until her body stiffens and she can no longer control her movements. But optimism prevails: “If I don’t run, I’ll walk. If I don’t walk, I’ll crawl,” she says.
In recent weeks, to promote the film, the filmmaker has also given news of Celine Dion’s health to the press. “She feels better. She is more confident now that she has the care she needs. Having a name for her illness has changed everything for her,” Irene Taylor stressed.
Before the documentary aired, Celine Dion reassured her fans, the Grammy Awards stage, to present Taylor Swift with her trophy for best album of the year on February 5.
A treatment to cure Celine Dion’s illness?
The disease that Celine Dion suffers from is an orphan disease. If it currently has no treatment, it is because it is too rare for public and even private investments to be directed towards this type of medical research, due to the lack of profitability to be expected for the potential drugs that could be put on the market.
But a team of scientists from the Montpellier University Hospital Institute, which specializes in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, assures that they can find a cure. “We are able to develop highly personalized biotherapies. So, for each patient, practically, we can develop an immunotherapy that works well. We have the scientific teams, the medical teams, the technical platforms that allow us to do this and we will do it willingly if we have the means,” assured Christian Jorgensen, director of the institute, to Europe 1 in June.
Invited later on France Bleu Hérault, he sent a message to the star, assuring that to begin the research, it was necessary to count on an investment of 10 million euros. “These are not necessarily people to whom we can propose a scientific development plan, so I do not think that Céline Dion herself had a concrete proportion, but perhaps with the press, it can reach her. I think that for her, 10 million euros is not much, and it is not at all a joke, if someone arrives with 10 million euros to develop a biomedicine, in two years, it is ready”, he said.