Celine Dion’s ordeal due to her neurological disease: “It’s like someone is strangling you”

Although he made an emotional appearance at the Grammy Awards earlier this year, Celine Dion It’s been several years since he was able to go on stage to sing his biggest hits.

The Canadian star was forced to postpone his tour concerts several times Couragedue to a strange neurological illness that she suffers from and which has caused her to prioritize her treatment.

In December 2022, she shared for the first time that she had been diagnosed with Rigid Person Syndrome (RPS). It is a rare disease that affects the nervous system and causes stiffness, muscle spasms and increased sensitivity to external stimuli.

Since then, he rarely discusses his state of health. And now, in an interview he gave to journalist Hoda Kotb for BNCthe singer provided new details about how this has impacted her life and how long she’s been battling MRS symptoms.

In dialogue with BNCthe singer said that when she tries to sing, she feels like someone else is pressing hard on her neck, due to the neurological disorder she suffers from.

“It feels like someone is strangling you… It feels like someone is pushing your larynx/pharynx like that,” Related to Dion. Immediately afterwards, the artist tried to show how she felt: “It’s like talking like that and you can’t lower or raise (the tone). A spasm occurs.

Another of the revelations she left in the interview was that although the artist shared her diagnosis in 2022, in reality secretly fighting against the signs of the disease for 17 years . One of the factors that led her to hide it was that her husband and father of her children, René Angélil, was also battling an illness, in her case throat cancer.

“I had to raise my children, I had to hide. I had to try to be a hero, when I felt like my body was failing me. (I was) clinging to my own dreams,” the artist commented.

The muscle spasms from which he suffered were so repeated and so strong that they sometimes caused rib fractures. Over time, your arms and legs may also become so stiff that it will be very difficult to move.

Despite the consequences that the SPR left on his life, the artist of The power of love reveals that he has no plans to retire permanently. “(This illness) hasn’t taken anything away from me. I’m getting back on stage, even if I have to crawl. Even if I have to speak with my hands, I will. » .

“I am Celine Dion, because today my voice will be heard for the first time, not just because I have to or because I need it. It’s because I love it and I miss it,” he said.

The winner of five Grammys and an Oscar awaits the release of I am: Celine Diona documentary that explores her singing career and the fight against her neurological disorder, and which will be released on June 25 on the Amazon Prime Video platform.