Céline Dion had ‘broken ribs’ due to stiff-person syndrome

Canadian singer Celine Dion performs on the opening night of her new world tour “Courage” at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec, on Sept. 18, 2019. (Photo by Alice Chiche / AFP)

Global pop star Céline Dion opened up anew about her battle with stiff-person syndrome as she revealed that she had “broken ribs” due to spasm and that enduring the illness feels like “somebody is strangling you.”

Sitting down for a one-on-one interview with Today, the “My Heart Will Go on” singer gave new insights on her health journey as the neurological condition has supposedly affected all parts of her body.

“I had broken ribs at one point,” she told journalist Hoda Kotb in a sneak peek at her conversation which will be aired on June 11 on NBC. “Sometimes, when it’s very severe, it can break some ribs.”

“It’s like somebody strangling you. It’s like somebody is pushing your larynx and pharynx when it gets into a spasm,” further detailed the award-winning singer.

Dion shared that every time she felt like she was “going to be fine,” she would begin to experience painful muscle spasms and stiffness in other parts of her body.

“It can also be in the abdominals, in the spine, or in the ribs. But it feels like if I point my feet, they will stay in a stuck position, or if I cook—because I love to cook—my fingers and hands will get in a stuck position. My feet—it’s cramping, but it’s like being in a position where you cannot unlock them,” she explained.

Kotb shared on behalf of Dion that the singer “almost died” because of her stiff person syndrome, saying, “It was a scary time, and she’s dealing with this.”

In December 2023, Dion’s sister, Claudette, said that it is the dream of the “That’s the Way It Is” singer to return to stage; however, given her current health condition, everything remains uncertain.

“In what capacity? I don’t know,” she said. “The vocal cords are muscles, and the heart is also a muscle. This is what gets me. Because it’s a one-in-a-million case, scientists don’t have that much research on the topic because it didn’t affect that many people.”

Dion first opened up about her diagnosis in December 2022 after she canceled her world tour, revealing that she was battling the disease.

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