Topline
Celine Dion does not have control of her muscles, her sister told a Canadian website, a year after the pop star announced she was canceling her tour because of her stiff person syndrome diagnosis, a rare autoimmune disorder of the nervous system.
Last year, Dion announced she had a neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome.
Key Facts
Claudette Dion, also a singer, told the Canadian website 7 Jours her sister works hard but “does not have control of her muscles.”
While Claudette Dion said her sister aspires to return to the stage, it’s unclear what a comeback might look like given the effects of the disease.
Crucial Quote
“There are some who have lost hope because it is a disease that is not [very well]
known,” Claudette Dion told Canada’s 7 Jours. “What pains me is that she has always been disciplined. She’s always worked hard. Our mother always told her, ‘You’re going to do it well, you’re going to do it properly.’”
Surprising Fact
This is not the first time Claudette Dion has updated the public on her sister’s health. In an August interview with Hello! Magazine, she described the spams her sister experiences; “You know people who often jump up in the night because of a cramp in the leg or the calf? It’s a bit like that, but in all muscles.” Claudette Dion added, “there’s little we can do to support her, to alleviate her pain.”
Key Background
In May, Celine Dion announced she was canceling her 2023-2024 world tour to “build back strength” after her diagnosis with stiff-person syndrome. That announcement came almost five months after Celine Dion first postponed 2023 tour dates and announced she had been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome—a rare autoimmune disease that causes people to develop “abnormal, often hunched-over postures” and occasional affects people’s ability to walk, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Other symptoms include sensitivity to touch, stiff muscles in the arms, legs and torso, and noise and emotional distress that can trigger muscle spasms, according to Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center. Stiff-person syndrome is incurable, according to Yale Medicine.
What We Don’t Know
It’s unclear when or if Celine Dion will return to the stage. When she canceled her tour in May she said it would remain canceled “until I’m ready to be back on stage again.”
Big Number
Fewer than 5,000. That’s how many in the U.S. are affected by stiff-person syndrome, according to Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center.
Further Reading
What Is Stiff-Person Syndrome? Celine Dion Cancels Tour Over Rare Muscular Disorder (Forbes)
