Celine Dion on how Stiff-Person Syndrome affected her voice

Canadian singer Celine Dion recently opened up about the impact Stiff-Person Syndrome has had on her voice. In a conversation with NBC is newsThe singer opened up about her condition and shared that it has had a significant impact on her voice.

She said, „It’s like someone is strangling you. It’s like someone is pushing your larynx/larynx,” raising her voice to the effect in a preview of the conversation that aired on the Today show. „It was like talking like that, and you couldn’t go higher or lower.”

„It’s becoming a gripe,” Dion continued. „It started (in the throat). (I thought), 'No, OK, that’ll be fine.’ But it can be in the stomach, it can be in the spine, it can be in the ribs.”

He added that the erection can sometimes feel like it’s locked in place.

„If I point my feet, I feel like they’re inside [that position],” said the “Power of Love” singer.

Or, if I cook – because I love to cook – my fingers, my hands, get into position … It’s a cramp but you can’t open them.”

„I had broken ribs at one point because sometimes when it’s so severe, it breaks,” he said.

In December 2022 Ms. Dion was diagnosed with difficult person syndrome, a rare and incurable neurological disorder that causes terrible muscle spasms, prompting the postponement of all scheduled performances.

At the time she said, „Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life. Sometimes it causes difficulty when I walk and doesn’t allow me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I used to.”

„All I know is to sing,” he added. „It’s what I’ve been doing all my life. It’s what I want to do the most.”

According to the Stiff Person Syndrome Foundation, the condition affects the central nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord.

„Patients can be disabled, wheelchair-bound or bedridden, unable to work and take care of themselves,” they say, adding that neuropathy with autoimmune features includes symptoms such as „hyper-stiffness, debilitating pain, chronic anxiety.” and muscle spasms „so violent as to displace joints and break bones.”

Speaking about her interview with Dion for Jenna Bush Hager’s co-host last month, Hoda Cote said, „Celine is doing really well now, but at one point she almost died, which is something she says.”

„It’s a terrible time and she’s dealing with this,” Kotb added. Dion’s conversation with Kotb airs in its entirety on Tuesday, June 11, on NBC, People reports.