In January, Celine Dion announced that she was canceling 19 North American dates of her Courage World Tour, citing “severe and persistent muscle spasms which are preventing her from performing.” Then, in April, her “health issues” caused her to reschedule European dates. The “My Heart Will Go On” legend is ending 2022 on a similarly sad note.
Dion, 54, shared an emotional Instagram video this morning (December 8), postponing 23 spring 2023 Courage World Tour dates to 2024 and canceling eight summer 2023 dates. The updated schedule can be seen here, but fans will be more concerned about the five-time Grammy winner’s overall well-being after watching her heartbreaking video. Dion frequently paused to hold back tears as she looked directly into the camera and specified her ongoing health battle.
“Hello, everyone. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reach out to you. I miss you all so much, and I can’t wait to be on stage talking to you in person. As you know, I’ve always been an open book, and I wasn’t ready to say anything before, but I’m ready now,” Dion began. “I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through. Recently, I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people.”
She continued, “While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we know now this is what’s been causing all of the spasms that I have been having. Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life — sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to. It hurts me to tell you today this means I won’t be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February.”
Dion added that she has “a great team of doctors” helping her “get better” and acknowledged “her precious children […] supporting me and giving me hope.” She has three sons, 21-year-old René-Charles and 11-year-old twins Eddy and Nelson, with René Angélil. Her late husband passed away from throat cancer in January 2016.
“I’m working hard with my sports medicine therapist every day to build back my strength and my ability to perform again, but I have to admit it’s been a struggle,” Dion concluded. “All I know is singing; it’s what I’ve done all my life, and it’s what I love to do the most. I miss you so much. I miss seeing all of you. Being on the stage, performing with you. I always give 100 percent when I do my shows, but my condition is not allowing me to do that right now. For me to reach you again, I have no choice but to concentrate on my health at this moment, and I have hope that I’m on the road to recovery. This is my focus, and I’m doing everything that I can to recuperate.”
According to Cleveland Clinic, stiff-person syndrome (SPS) is “a rare autoimmune movement disorder that affects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord)” and eventually causes “the development of stiffness and rigidity in the legs and other muscles in the body.” Cleveland Clinic additionally relays that muscle spasms, like Dion noted experiencing, usually “occur randomly or can be triggered by noise, emotional distress and light physical touch.”