A candid look at Celine Dion’s struggles with stiff person syndrome is being shared with fans.
The legendary singer had a terrifying medical emergency while in physical therapy, and the entire ordeal is documented in a recently published documentary.
Although Dion first announced her stiff person syndrome diagnosis in 2022, the singer opens out about living with the symptoms of the uncommon and progressive neurological condition for the past seventeen years in her new documentary, I Am: Celine Dion.
I am in desperate need of my band instrument. On top of that, my tool was malfunctioning. Dion, 56, started to raise the dosage after she had trouble hitting key notes on her 2018 and 2019 tours.
Despite finishing her 2018 tour, Dion had to put her 2019 tour dates on hold a few times because to the “common cold” before the pandemic ended it.
In 2022, she was back on the road, but she had to keep postponing and canceling concerts. She formally withdrew from all remaining engagements only after she revealed her condition.
“I am no longer able to lie,” Dion states in the document. “Any kind of infection, from the common cold to ear infections and beyond. On occasion, I would direct my microphone toward the crowd and encourage them to sing along. At one point, I tapped on the microphone as if it were the microphone’s fault, which was insincere.
Dion also opens up about her terrifying encounter with a full-body spasm in the documentary.
Dion feels a cramp in her foot as she does physical therapy exercises on a massage table. She goes into a full-body seizure within minutes, rendering her mute and unable to respond to anyone around her.
While the camera rolls, another doctor enters the room with benzodiazepine nasal spray and gives it to Dion, who is still there but wailing in agony. It hurts to see the video.
The spasms usually last 30 minutes to an hour, and after they’ve stopped, Dion can sit up and talk normally again.
“Whenever this sort of thing occurs, it truly humiliates me,” she remarks. You know, the feeling of not being able to control oneself is something I can’t quite put into words.
The episode, according to her physical therapist, was caused by being “overstimulated” from a previous singing session.
“If I am unable to find stimulation in my beloved activities, then I will take to the stage. Will you then place the pulse oximeter on me and place me on my back?” she asks with a hint of curiosity.
The return to the stage is something Dion dreams about for the future. Here you can see the terrifying video of her seizure.
Watching this documentary will move you to tears. I beg everyone to watch, even if they don’t like Celine Dion.