How Celine Dion’s diagnosis changed understanding of living with stiff-person syndrome – CTV
March 15, 2023
It’s been more than three months since Canadian singer Celine Dion announced she was diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome (SPS).
Dion, 54, posted to Instagram at the time, saying she needed to cancel the rest of her world tour due to SPS, a rare neurological condition that has no cure.
In the emotional video, Dion explains how the muscle spasms from SPS impact “every aspect” of her life and hinder her ability to perform.
Since the announcement, Tara Zier, the founder of the Stiff Person Syndrome Research Foundation, said the public’s understanding of the condition has increased, resulting in hope for people dealing with SPS that more research and funding will follow.
“It was this horrible feeling that she has this disease – because I know what that means to go through the initial stages of getting diagnosed – but so grateful for the awareness,” Zier told CTVNews.ca in an interview. “The disease has this name that just doesn’t do it justice.”
