Céline Dion doesn’t plan on letting her battle with stiff-person syndrome stop her from hitting the stage once again.
“Céline is a fighter. She doesn’t have as much control over her muscles as she did before, but she’s working with doctors and physical therapists to get better,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “Céline has been taking time to focus on her health but plans to take the stage again once she is given the go-ahead by her medical team.”
One year ago, Dion revealed she was diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome — a rare neurological disorder that causes muscle stiffness and spasms — via an emotional Instagram video.
“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,” she shared in December 2022.
At the time, Dion announced that she would be postponing her Courage World Tour until spring 2024 due to her health. The tour was officially canceled in May.
“I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again. I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100[percent],” Dion wrote via Instagram. “It’s not fair to you to keep postponing the shows, and even though it breaks my heart, it’s best that we cancel everything now until I’m really ready to be back on stage again. I want you all to know, I’m not giving up … and I can’t wait to see you again!”
A second source tells Us that the Grammy winner “won’t give up the fight” against her stiff-person syndrome. “She’s staying positive and upbeat and doing her physical therapy every day,” the insider added. “Getting back on stage in some form is her constant dream, even if she can no longer sing; she just wants to see those shining faces.”
At the end of the day, her return to the stage “all depends on her health and how she’s feeling.” The second source tells Us: “She’s working with her doctors and other medical professionals and hoping for a miracle.”
Dion’s family continues to stay by her side amid her health struggles. “Her kids have been her rock,” a third source shared with Us in December 2022, adding, “The twins are very mature for their age and René-Charles checks on and dotes on his mom all the time.” (Dion shares sons René-Charles, 22, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 13, with her late husband René Angélil.)
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer stepped out for a rare public appearance alongside her sons at a Las Vegas hockey game last month. After watching the Vegas Golden Knights defeat her hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens, Dion met with Canadiens players and coach Martin St. Louis in the team’s locker room.
Earlier this week, Céline’s sister, Claudette Dion, revealed that the pop star “doesn’t have control of her muscles” in an interview with Canadian magazine 7 Jours. “What pains me is that she has always been disciplined. She always worked hard,” Claudette, 75, told the outlet on Monday, December 18. “Mom always told her, ‘You’re going to do this right, you’re going to do this right.’”
In addition to claiming that “scientists didn’t do much research” into the disorder “because it didn’t affect that many people,” Claudette thanked her sister’s fans for their support. “People tell us they love her and pray for her,” she stated. “She receives so many messages, gifts, blessed crucifixes.”
