"When this whole thing started, if you put yourself in my shoes, I didn't have a [diagnosis]," says pop icon Céline Dion. It is spring in Las Vegas, and she's speaking to CBC's Adrienne Arsenault in an exclusive English Canadian interview. The topic that brought them together is, of course, what she is referring to now: the health issues that went from benign annoyances to debilitating attacks that caused her career to come to a screeching halt.
"I was trying to, what, survive through this. I was trying to be brave. Because, all my life, I wanted to be the best of me.
" The diagnosis Dion eventually received, and subsequently shared with the world in December 2022, was stiff-person syndrome (SPS) — a rare autoimmune disorder that inhibits the ability to move and, more importantly to Dion, use your voice. Céline Dion says she's dealing with neurological condition known as stiff-person syndrome What is stiff-person syndrome, the condition Céline Dion has been diagnosed with? It was an earth-shattering discovery for the musician who's won five Grammys and 20 Juno awards. And after first rescheduling, then cancelling her planned Courage world tour in 2023, she stepped away somewhat from her public life — focusing on managing the symptoms of a disease without a cure.
WATCH | Céline Dion on how SPS affects her voice: Céline Dion on how stiff person syndrome impacts her voice 23 minutes ago Duration 0:52 Céline Dion tells CBC chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault abo.