Celine Dion’s sister, Claudette has shared an update on the singer’s health six months after Celine announced her Stiff Person Syndrome diagnosis.
Claudette in a interview with Le Journal de Montreal revealed that their sister, Linda, has moved into Celine’s home, where she also lives with her three sons René-Charles, Eddy, and Nelson, to aid in her care, ET reports.
“When I call her and she’s busy, I speak to my sister Linda who lives with her and tells me that she’s working hard. She’s listening to the top researchers in the field of this rare disease as much as possible,” Claudette expressed.
While Celine is hard at work in her battle against the rare neurological disorder, they have yet to find a medication that truly works.
“I honestly think that she mostly needs to rest. She always goes above and beyond, she always tries to be the best and top of her game. At one point, your heart and your body are trying to tell you something. It’s important to listen to it,” she added of Celine’s decision to step away from performing.
She continued, “It’s innate to her, she’s disciplined in every area of her life. We can’t find any medicine that works, but having hope is important.”
The 55-year-old singer first shared her diagnosis in December, in an emotional video posted to Instagram where she opened up about the rare and incurable neurological disease.
“Hello everyone, I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to reach out to you, I miss you so much and I can’t wait to be on stage talking to you in person,” Dion, wearing an all-black outfit, began her message. “As you know, I’ve always been an open book and I wasn’t ready to say anything before but I’m ready now.”
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer shared that while she’s finally figured out what is causing her health issues, the disorder has impacted her daily life, and how she performs on stage.
“While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what’s been causing all of the spasms that I’ve been having,” she explained.
“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.”
While Dion initially postponed her European tour in her December announcement, in May, the Grammy-winning singer would go on to cancel all 42 remaining dates on her Courage World Tour.
Making the official announcement on her social media and her website, Dion apologized for disappointing her fans “once again.”
“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 percent,” she said in a statement. “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. I want you all to know, I’m not giving up… and I can’t wait to see you again.”
In addition to working on her health, Dion has released new music amid her battle with the disease, dropping the track, “Love Again,” in April as the lead single from the soundtrack to her film of the same name.
Dion’s voice is stronger than ever as she sings about finding hope and giving love another chance — which happens to be the theme of the film.
