Celine Dion broke down in tears as she tragically admitted she "feels her body leaving her" as she continues her health battle with stiff person syndrome .
This week the My Heart Will Go On hitmaker vulnerably opened up about her ongoing struggle with the rare autoimmune neurological disorder that she hid from her fans for nearly two decades. The 56-year-old singer confessed that she hid the disease from her supporters for 17 years before sharing the health update publicly. Celine admitted that she couldn't handle "lying" to her fans and that over time it came "too much to bear."
In a teaser for an upcoming exclusive interview with Today show host Hoda Kotb, she said: "I had to raise my kids, I had to hide, I had to try to be a hero - while feeling my body leaving me," and added: "[I was] holding on to my own dreams."
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In 2022, Celine revealed to her fans that she was diagnosed with a degenerative condition that progressively locks the body leaving people unable to walk or talk and essentially turns people into "human statues." Typical symptoms of stiff person syndrome include muscle tensing and uncontrollable spasms. While she has been navigating the condition for many years, it took some time before she was able to get to the bottom of her troubling symptoms.
She explained: "We did not know what was going on [with me]. I did not take the time... I should have stopped, took the time to figure it out. And like it wasn't enough, my husband as well is fighting for his own life." Celine explained that at the time she was preoccupied as her late husband René Angélil was battling throat cancer which he later tragically passed away from in 2016.
Host Hoda explained that Celine told her: "She had it for 17 years and she didn't know what was wrong and she was worried," and added: "Her voice was gone, her body was failing her, she was tripping and falling, all these things were happening."
While she tried to continue to perform while battling stiff person syndrome, Celine explained that it became overwhelming to the point that she was forced to cancel all of her upcoming shows in 2022 and take a hiatus from the music industry. She explained that singing on stage while navigating the disease felt like "someone was strangling her" and felt like someone is "pushing your larynx/pharynx." Celine said that it not only impacted her voice but she could also feel the muscle spasms in her abdominal, spine, and ribs and revealed that she has even broken ribs due to the condition.
Despite the severity of her disease, Celine has said that she has aspirations of getting back on stage in honor of International Stiff Person Syndrome Awareness Day. In an Instagram post, she wrote: "Trying to overcome this autoimmune disorder has been one of the hardest experiences of my life, but I remain determined to one day get back onto the stage and to live as normal of a life as possible. I am deeply grateful for the love and support from my kids, family, team and all of you."
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