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Celine Dion released her new documentary I Am: Celine Dion, on Tuesday (June 25) which includes extremely vulnerable footage that emphasizes her ongoing struggle with stiff person syndrome. According to Page Six, the songstress includes a scene in the documentary that highlights just how terrifying the neurological disorder can be.
The footage opens with Dion experiencing a series of spasms which her sports medicine therapist Terrill Lobo attempts to explain.
“Part of the disease is that as soon as you go into a contraction, sometimes … the signal to release it, doesn’t understand, so it ends up just staying in a contracted position." The 56-year-old hitmaker proceeds to lie down on a table and the spasms develop into "a full-blown seizure."
Another doctor is called into the room to assist Lobo and the "My Heart Will Go On" star is given medicine to calm her nervous system before returning face down on the table in pain. The next scene shows Dion with a tear streaking down her face as she remains "unable to move on her own" following the scary seizure. This is just one of the many symptoms attached to stiff person syndrome, affecting only one or two people in every million, per Johns Hopkin's Medicine.
The "All By Myself" hitmaker has been very open about her struggle with the rare neurological disorder in the past, citing lack of control and stiffness. The clip continues, revealing that the spasms occur when Dion's brain is "over stimulated." The standout inquires about the future of her career given this disheartening information.
“… If I can’t get stimulated by what I love, and then I’m gonna go onstage and, like, you’re gonna put the pulse oximeter on me and you’re gonna turn me on my back."
Lobo replies:
"It’s scary, I know. It’s hard. This is not the end of your journey — we all know that. But this is always that step on that journey."
The "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" artist announced her diagnosis in December of 2022 and has been continuously apparent about her desire to return to the stage despite being forced to cancel multiple shows over the last few years as she battles the relentless disorder.
Watch I Am: Celine Dion, on Prime Video, and listen to everything Celine Dion on iHeartRadio now!