Celine Dion has admitted she is ‘determined’ to get back on stage and perform again amid her battle with stiff person syndrome.
The hitmaker, 55, candidly opened up about her struggle with the disorder and revealed it is ‘one of the hardest experience’ of her life.
As the mother-of-three shared a sweet tribute to her three sons on Instagram, Celine took the opportunity to praise her friends, family and fanbase for the love she receives.
Celine, who is committed to return back to normality, posed alongside her beloved twins Eddy and Nelson, 13, as well as her eldest son Rene-Charles Angelil, 23, to mark Stiff Person Syndrome Awareness Day on Friday.
The songstress shares her three boys with late husband and music producer, Rene Angelil – who passed away in 2016 following a battle with throat cancer.
In the caption of the photo, Celine penned to her 6.4 million followers, ‘Today the world recognizes International SPS Awareness Day.’
‘As many of you know, in the fall of 2022, I was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS),’ she continued.
‘Trying to overcome this autoimmune disorder has been one of the hardest experiences of my life, but I remain determined to one day get back onto the stage and to live as normal of a life as possible.’
The star then expressed, ‘I am deeply grateful for the love and support from my kids, family, team and all of you!’
‘I want to send my encouragement and support to all those around the world that have been affected by SPS. I want you to know you can do it! We can do it! Love Celine xx…,’ Dion concluded.
Social media users jumped to the comment section to share share their support to the star, with one fan typing, ‘I love you Celine,’ followed by a white heart emoji.
Perez Hilton wrote, ‘You are so loved!!’ while another added, ‘You can do it ❤️ your old soul and your voice are here to heal around the world.’
In December 2022, Celine revealed that she had been diagnosed with the rare neurological disease in an emotional video.
Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) is a degenerative condition that causes muscles to tense and spasm uncontrollably. Ultimately, it leaves sufferers resembling ‘human statues as it progressively locks the body, leaving people unable to walk or talk.
There is no cure for SPS, but there are steps that can be taken to slow down symptoms – something Celine revealed she is exploring.
After battling her illness behind the scenes, Celine made her first public appearance in nearly three years last November when she attended an ice hockey game with her three sons.
In footage posted online, Celine looked to be in great spirits as she greeted players and fans in the locker rooms after the match.
Last month in February, the singer made a surprise appearance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards to present Album of the Year to Taylor Swift.
At the time, a source told Page Six that Dion wanted to show stiff-person syndrome ‘is not a death sentence.’
She also ‘brushed off’ Swift ‘ignoring’ her when she accepted the Grammy award – with the pair even posing together backstage during the ceremony.
‘I don’t think Celine cared and they talked backstage afterwards. But Celine was just gracious and happy to be there. Of course, the right thing would have been for Taylor to acknowledge her, like Adele did years ago.’
‘She wanted to show everyone that she’s doing alright. She has good days and bad days … it’s a painful disease, but it’s not a death sentence,’ the source told the outlet.
‘She’s clearly capable of doing things and she wanted to show everyone that she’s back. She looked fantastic. The hope is that she will be able to perform.’
Earlier this month, Celine was spotted on a rare outing in NYC and stayed positive as she gave a thumbs up to those around her.
She made another rare public outing at the Edmonton Oilers hockey game in Las Vegas amid her battle with the disease.
In a video uploaded to the team’s main Instagram page, she was seen having a blast with the players in a locker room – and at one point, Dion humorously imitated being a player.
One of the team players, left winger Zach Hyman, stood next to the singer and also shared a laugh during the lighthearted and memorable interaction.
Earlier this week on Monday, Celine was seen in Boston with her twin sons and others at a restaurant called Scampo located inside the Liberty Hotel.
A manager of the eatery recently told People, ‘Everyone said she looked like a million bucks. Everyone said she looked beautiful.’
Back in December 2022 when she opened up about her diagnosis, Celine said, ‘Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.’
However, the mother-of-three explained that she has, ‘a great team of doctors working alongside me to help me get better and my precious children who are supporting me and giving me help.’
‘I’m working hard with my sports medicine therapist every day to build back my strength and my ability to perform again but I have to admit it’s been a struggle.’
‘All I know is singing. It’s what I’ve done all my life and its what I love to do the most,’ she emotionally added. ‘I miss you so much. I miss seeing all of you being on the stage performing for you…’
Dion said she was ‘doing everything I can to recuperate. I want to thank you so much for your wishes and love and support on my social media. This means a lot to me.’
Late last year in December, a source told Us Weekly that Celine, ‘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.’
‘Celine 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.’
At the time, her sister Claudette also told the French outlet, 7 Jours, ‘She’s working hard, but she doesn’t have control over her muscles. What breaks my heart is that she’s always been disciplined.’
‘She’s always worked hard. Our mother always told her, “You’re going to do it well, you’re going to do it properly.”‘
‘It’s true that in both our dreams and hers, the goal is to return to the stage. In what capacity? I don’t know.’