Céline Dion is opening up about living with stiff person syndrome (SPS), a debilitating condition that forced her to put her career on hold since the 2022 diagnosis, canceling all of her 2023 and 2024 tour dates.
In a new interview with Vogue France, the singer recounted the early stages of her diagnosis and the despair she felt.
"At the beginning, I would ask myself: why me? How did this happen? What have I done? Is this my fault?" she said.
"Life doesn't give you any answers. You just have to live it! I have this illness for some unknown reason," she said. "The way I see it, I have two choices. Either I train like an athlete and work super hard, or I switch off and it's over, I stay at home, listen to my songs, stand in front of my mirror and sing to myself. I've chosen to work with all my body and soul, from head to toe, with a medical team. I want to be the best I can be. My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again!"
She added, "I have this strength within me. I know that nothing is going to stop me."
There is currently no cure for SPS, a rare autoimmune neurological condition that causes muscle spasms and rigidity, often leading to a decline in mobility.
"For now, I have to learn to live with it … Five days a week I undergo athletic, physical and vocal therapy. I work on my toes, my knees, my calves, my fingers, my singing, my voice," Dion, 56, said, adding that she couldn't confirm a return to the stage.
"For four years I've been saying to myself that I'm not going back, that I'm ready, that I'm not ready ... As things stand, I can't stand here and say to you: 'Yes, in four months.' I don't know ... My body will tell me," she said.
"I'm working very hard and tomorrow will be even harder. Tomorrow is another day. But there's one thing that will never stop, and that's the will," she added.
Back in December, the singer's sister, Claudette Dion, shared that Celine Dion "doesn't have control over her muscles."
Claudette Dion, in an interview with local Canadian media, said that while Céline Dion "works hard" to fight the illness, the future of her singing career was uncertain.
"In our dreams and in hers, the idea is to return to the stage. In what state? I do not know," Claudette Dion said, according to The Guardian.