Céline Dion explained more of her health journey with stiff-person syndrome, which included broken ribs due to spasms she’s continued to experience.
Céline Dion is giving insight into her health journey.
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer revealed some of the harrowing realities of battling stiff person syndrome , including fractures due to her spasms.
“I had broken ribs at one point,” Céline told Hoda Kotb on Today June 7 in a sneak peek of her conversation airing June 11 on NBC. “Sometimes, when it’s very severe, it can break some ribs.”
The neurological condition has affected all parts of her body, including those needed to sing. “It’s like somebody strangling you,” she explained. “It’s like somebody is pushing your larynx and pharynx when it gets into a spasm.”
And nearly two years after the Grammy winner first announced her diagnosis , she shared just how much her life has changed battling stiff-person syndrome.
“It’s not hard to do a show now; it’s hard to cancel a show,” she said in a clip from her documentary I Am: Celine Dion, out on Prime Video June 25. “I’m working hard every day, but I have to admit—it’s been a struggle. I miss it so much. The people. I miss them.”
But Céline—who shares sons Rene Charles 23, and twins Nelson and Eddy 13 with her late husband Rene Angelil—has remained determined to remain positive amid her journey.
“Life doesn’t give you any answers,” she told Vogue France in April. “You just have to live it! I have this illness for some unknown reason.”
“The way I see it, I have two choices,” the 56-year-old continued. “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.”
But the “It’s All Coming Back to Me” singer also emphasized the privilege she has as someone who has the support of her family, friends, fans and team. And for that, she is incredibly grateful.
“People who suffer from SPS may not be lucky enough or have the means to have good doctors and good treatments,” she noted. “I have those means, and this is a gift. What’s more, I have this strength within me. I know that nothing is going to stop me.”
