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Celine Dion’s children are deeply concerned about her battle with stiff person syndrome.
The iconic singer of My Heart Will Go On fame has been grappling with the progressive condition known as stiff person syndrome (SPS) since December 2022, a fact she initially kept under wraps.
Now, the Canadian star is preparing to share her personal struggle in the much-anticipated documentary, I Am: Celine Dion.
It took two years after the revelation of her rare illness for the 56-year-old songstress to publicly discuss how it has affected her life.
In a poignant confession this week while promoting her new documentary set to stream on Amazon Prime Video, Celine opened up further.
In an interview with Sunrise, Celine revealed to reporter Mylee Hogan that her sons Nelson, Eddy, and Rene-Charles are haunted by the fear of losing their mother to SPS.
Visibly moved during the interview, she shared: “I don’t have my mum, I don’t have my dad.
“My kids are scared because they lost their dad, and they’re wondering if I’m going to die. I don’t want to die, I don’t want to lie.”
For the first time, she also delved into the onset of her health issues, stating: “I got scared. It can be life-threatening.”
Reflecting on the moment she began experiencing symptoms, she recounted the anxiety-inducing question: “What’s going to happen?”
Her latest revelations follow previous disclosures where Celine admitted to relying on dangerously high doses of medication to manage muscle spasms before her diagnosis was confirmed.
The singer originally revealed the terrifying reality of her condition in an interview with Today host Hoda Kotb.
The disorder causes progressive muscular stiffness and spasms that can affect various parts of the body.
“I did not know, honestly, that it could kill me,” she confessed, referring to her previous reliance on diazepam, commonly known as Valium, to relax her “whole body” for performances.
She admitted to taking up to 20 milligrams of Valium before a performance, only to find its effects wearing off by the time she reached backstage.
As her body grew accustomed to the medication, Celine found herself increasing the dosage to combat her symptoms, eventually reaching a staggering 90 milligrams a day – a potentially lethal amount.
However, during the pandemic, she managed to wean herself off the medications, particularly the more harmful ones, as they had stopped working.
Looking back, she expressed regret for not taking the time to “figure it out” instead of pushing through performances, especially during the period when her late husband, Rene Angelil, was battling throat cancer. He sadly passed away in January 2016.
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