Céline Dion asked herself if it was her “fault” she was afflicted with Stiff Person Syndrome when she was first diagnosed with the rare condition.
Céline Dion asked herself if it was her ‘fault’ she was afflicted with Stiff Person Syndrome when she was first diagnosed with the rare condition
The 55-year-old singer, who revealed in 2022 she was suffering the neurological disease, made the admission while also opening up about how she is still taking it “one day at a time” as she learns to “live with” the illness.
She told the new issue of Vogue France when asked how she was coping with her SPS: “I’m well, but it’s a lot of work. I’m taking it one day at a time.
“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.”
Céline added about the daily treatment she is getting: “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?’”
The singer – whose music producer husband René Angélil died aged 73 in 2016 after they were married for 22 years – also said she has resigned herself to never getting an answer as to why she has SPS.
She added: “Life doesn't give you any answers. You just have to live it! I have this illness for some unknown reason.
“The way I see it, I have two choices. 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 singer’s SPS is a progressive neurological disorder that can cause frozen muscles in the torso, arms and legs and affects about one in a million people.
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