Céline Dion revealed Thursday morning that she's been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological disease that can cause debilitating muscle spasms, according to the report by People Magazine.
In a tearful video posted to her Instagram account in both English and French, the Canadian singer said her condition would force her to postpone and cancel a series of upcoming concert dates.
Céline Dion cancels European concerts ‘until I’m really ready t...
"I've been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it's been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I've been going through," Dion, 54, wrote in the caption of the post. "It hurts me to tell you that I won't be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February."
"Recently, I've been diagnosed with a very rare neurological condition called stiff-person syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people," she said in her video. "While we're still learning about this rare condition, we now know that this is what has been causing all of the spasms that I've been having."
The condition, according to the Stiff Person Syndrome Foundation, affects the central nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord. "Patients can be disabled, wheelchair-bound or bed-ridden, unable to work and care for themselves," they say, adding that the neurological disease with autoimmune features can include symptoms like "hyper-rigidity, debilitating pain, chronic anxiety," and muscle spasms "so violent they can dislocate joints and even break bones."
"Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life," Dion continued. "Sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I'm used to."
Dion — who has three sons, René-Charles, 21, and 11-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy with her late husband René Angélil — went on to note that she has "a great team of doctors working alongside me to help me get better."
