Celine Dion revealed the real reason she kept her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis a secret for months before making an announcement.
Ahead of I Am: Celine Dion's global stream on Prime Video on June 25, Dion exclusively spoke with People for its latest cover story regarding her battle with stiff-person syndrome. According to the singer, she was diagnosed with the dreaded illness in August 2022, though she only revealed it in an Instagram video in December of the same year.
Speaking with E! News at the documentary's premiere, the "To Love You More" hitmaker expressed her gratitude to her fans for their support and encouragement amid her health battle. She also told the news outlet that she kept it to herself for months as she was too nervous to share her condition publicly.
"Because I respect my fans, my family, my kids, myself," she continued, "they deserve to know."
She also shared her hopes that her documentary could raise awareness surrounding the syndrome.
Dion continued, "I'm trying for this awareness for the people who may feel that they're alone, they're suffering. I hope that this will give them wings and strength to reach out and talk to people and say it's worth it. We're all worth it, and I'm just thankful."
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The "My Heart Will Go On" hitmaker spoke about her diagnosis in an emotional Instagram video while also announcing the cancelation of the remainder of her tour.
"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."
In the months thereafter, Dion and her family have offered both positive and negative news as she continues her battle with stiff-person syndrome.
In her People interview, she also revealed she had been experiencing symptoms of stiff-person syndrome for nearly two decades but decided to brush them aside. She wanted to continue performing, so she was prescribed to take medications like Valium to relax her muscles.
Although Dion was advised to only take two milligrams, she reportedly once took 90 milligrams of the medication to make it through a performance.
"It could have been fatal. I did not question the level because I don't know medicine. I thought it was going to be OK. It worked for a few days, for a few weeks, and then it doesn't work anymore," she told People. "I did not understand that I could have gone to bed and stopped breathing. And you learn - you learn through your mistakes."
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