Céline Dion's older sister Claudette has offered another health update on how the icon is coping with stiff-person syndrome (SPS), which forced her to cancel her 2023–2024 world tour.
Dion revealed that she had been diagnosed with the rare neurological condition just over a year ago. Back in August, Claudette indicated that the singer was struggling to see improvement in her prognosis and that their sister Linda had moved into Céline's house to aid with her care.
What Claudette recently told French publication 7 Jours is more of the same, unfortunately: she revealed that, at this point in the progression of the illness, the artist has now lost control of her muscles.
"She works hard, but she has no control of her muscles," Claudette said, translated from French. "What pains me is that she has always been disciplined. She always worked hard."
"It's certain that, in our dreams and in hers, the idea is to return to the stage," she continued, but admitted that she didn't know if that would be possible or what state the singer would be in.
Claudette added, "The vocal cords are muscles, but so is the heart. That's what gets to me. Because it's one in a million case, scientists don't have that much research on the topic, because it doesn't affect that many people."
SPS is a rare autoimmune disorder often marked by severe, uncontrollable muscle spasms and fluctuating levels of rigidity. A person typically has control over skeletal voluntary muscles, but involuntary muscles — like the heart and the smooth intestinal muscles — aren't under conscious control and are an automatic function of the nervous system. (SPS affects the central nervous system, primarily the brain and spinal cord.)
At the beginning of last month, Dion made her first public appearance in over three years, attending a Montreal Canadiens hockey game in Las Vegas with her three sons, posing for photos with the team in their dressing room.
Dion revealed that she had been diagnosed with the rare neurological condition just over a year ago. Back in August, Claudette indicated that the singer was struggling to see improvement in her prognosis and that their sister Linda had moved into Céline's house to aid with her care.
What Claudette recently told French publication 7 Jours is more of the same, unfortunately: she revealed that, at this point in the progression of the illness, the artist has now lost control of her muscles.
"She works hard, but she has no control of her muscles," Claudette said, translated from French. "What pains me is that she has always been disciplined. She always worked hard."
"It's certain that, in our dreams and in hers, the idea is to return to the stage," she continued, but admitted that she didn't know if that would be possible or what state the singer would be in.
Claudette added, "The vocal cords are muscles, but so is the heart. That's what gets to me. Because it's one in a million case, scientists don't have that much research on the topic, because it doesn't affect that many people."
SPS is a rare autoimmune disorder often marked by severe, uncontrollable muscle spasms and fluctuating levels of rigidity. A person typically has control over skeletal voluntary muscles, but involuntary muscles — like the heart and the smooth intestinal muscles — aren't under conscious control and are an automatic function of the nervous system. (SPS affects the central nervous system, primarily the brain and spinal cord.)
At the beginning of last month, Dion made her first public appearance in over three years, attending a Montreal Canadiens hockey game in Las Vegas with her three sons, posing for photos with the team in their dressing room.
