Celine Dion’s sister has given a grim update on the singer’s battle with stiff-person syndrome.
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Claudette Dion told 7 Jours , “She doesn’t have control over her muscles. What breaks my heart is that she’s always been disciplined. She’s always worked hard. Our mother always told her, ‘You’re going to do it well, you’re going to do it properly,’” E! News reported.
Read More Celine Dion canceled her Courage World Tour earlier this year, citing the neurological condition which causes muscle spasms and stiffness. On Instagram, she wrote, “I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again. I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100%. It’s not fair to you to keep postponing the shows, and even though it breaks my heart, it’s best that we cancel everything now until I’m really ready to be back on stage again.”
There is no cure for stiff-person syndrome, Sky News reported. Dion was diagnosed with the condition a year ago.
The Mayo Clinic said stiff-person syndrome is an autoimmune disorder that affects the nervous system and causes “progressive, severe muscle stiffness and spasms of the lower extremities and back.”
Claudette Dion said, “It’s true that in both our dreams and hers, the goal is to return to the stage. In what capacity? I don’t know,” E! News reported.
Celine Dion said the spasms affected “every aspect” of her life and made it difficult to walk or even use her vocal cords properly.
[ Celine Dion’s sister says ‘There’s Little We Can Do’ to ‘alleviate’ singer’s pain ]
“The vocal cords are muscles, and the heart is also a muscle. This is what comes to get me. Because [Dion’s condition is a] one out of a million case, the scientists haven’t done that much research because it didn’t affect that many people,” Claudette Dion said, according to The Los Angeles Times .
Photos: Celine Dion through the years Here are some memorable photos of singer Celine Dion through the years. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 1996: A general view of the festivities going on during the Opening Ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta on Aug. 19, 1996. (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 1997: Celine Dion and Smokey Robinson at the third annual International Achievement in Arts Awards on Sept. 28, 1997, in Beverly Hills, California. (Albert Ortega/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 1999: Celine Dion arrives at the 71st Academy Awards on March 21, 1999, in Los Angeles. (Liaison Agency/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2000: Celine Dion appears at the Nabisco Championship Golf Tournament on March 26, 2000, in Rancho Mirage, California. (Tom Hauck/Allsport/Online USA, Inc./Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2001: Singer Celine Dion holds her 6-month-old baby, Rene-Charles, as she and her husband Rene Angelil pose for fans and photographers July 25, 2001, at the chapel of the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec, for the baptism of their baby boy. (Lyle Stafford/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2002: Singer Celine Dion and husband Rene Angelil attend Sony Music Entertainment's party at Morton's Restaurant on February 27, 2002, in Los Angeles. (Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2003: Singer Celine Dion and dancers rehearse for the "Celine Dion - A New Day" concert at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (Tomasz Rossa/CDA Productions (Las Vegas) Inc., 2003 via Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2004: Singer Celine Dion gets a kiss from husband Rene Angelil at a ceremony honoring her with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 6, 2004, in Hollywood, California. (Vince Bucci/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2005: Singer Celine Dion and her husband and manager, Rene Angelil, walk from a news conference to a ceremony marking the opening of the 26-story, 949-room Augustus Tower at Caesars Palace September 1, 2005, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2006: Singer Celine Dion and her husband and manager, Rene Angelil, pose after Dion performed at the 41st annual Labor Day Telethon to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association at the South Coast Hotel & Casino on September 3, 2006, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2007: Singer Celine Dion is embraced by her husband and manager, Rene Angelil, and their son, Rene-Charles Angelil, after the final performance of her show "A New Day ..." at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on December 15, 2007, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images for AEG Live/Concerts West)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2009: In this handout photo provided by Disney, Grammy Award-winning singer Celine Dion performs "O' Come All Ye Faithful" at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa hotel on December 4, 2009, in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, while taping the "Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade" holiday TV special. (Matt Stroshane/Disney via Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2010: Singer Celine Dion backstage during the 52nd annual Grammy Awards held at Staples Center on January 31, 2010, in Los Angeles. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2011: Singer Celine Dion (right) and manager Rene Angelil arrive at the 83rd annual Academy Awards held at the Kodak Theatre on February 27, 2011, in Hollywood, California. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2012: Celine Dion performs during BAMBI Awards 2012 at the Stadthalle Duesseldorf on November 22, 2012, in Duesseldorf, Germany. (Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2013: Celine Dion poses in the press room during the 2013 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 19, 2013, in Las Vegas. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2015: Singer Celine Dion performs at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace as she resumes her residency on August 27, 2015, in Las Vegas. The show had been on hiatus since August 2014 when Dion stopped performing to care for her ailing husband Rene Angelil. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2016: Singer Celine Dion performs onstage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards at T-Mobile Arena on May 22, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2017: Celine Dion attends the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017, in New York City. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2019: Celine Dion attends the 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2019, in New York City. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Photos: Celine Dion through the years 2020: In this screengrab, Celine Dion performs during "One World: Together at Home" presented by Global Citizen on April, 18, 2020. (Getty Images/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
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