Celine Dion has vowed to 'work hard' to perform again after revealing she's been diagnosed with 'very rare' incurable neurological condition stiff-person syndrome.
The music icon, who has given the world hits like Think Twice, Because You Loved Me and Titanic smash My Heart Will Go On, was forced to cancel a string of tour dates across the globe due to Covid but then, as things opened up again, further delayed the shows, including a number in the UK, due to undisclosed health issues.
And on Thursday, the French Canadian singer broke the sad news of her condition to her army of fans and announced her world tour would be put back again to spring 2024. In a video shared online, the megastar, who has also scored huge chart success with tracks like It's All Coming Back To Me Now, Beauty and the Beast and The Power of Love, said: "As you know, I've always been an open book and I wasn't ready to say anything before, but I'm ready now.
"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."]
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The 54-year-old continued: "Recently I've been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome, which effects something like one in a million people.
"While we are still learning about this rare condition we now know this is what's been causing all of the spasms I've been having. "Unfortunately these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal chords to sing the way I'm used to."
As she looked visibly moved, Celine, who first rose to prominence when she won Eurovision for Switzerland in 1998, added: ""I have a great team of doctors working alongside me to help me get better, and my precious children who are supporting me and giving me hope," she said. "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 it's what I love to do the most. I miss you so much, I miss seeing all of you, being on the stage, performing for you. I always give 100% when I do my shows but my condition is not allowing me to give you that right now."
She ended her tearful video by saying: "This is my focus and I'm doing everything that I can to recuperate. I want to thank you so much for your encouraging wishes of love and support on my social media. This means a lot to me. Take care of yourselves, be well. I love you guys so much. And I really hope I can see you again real soon."
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