Celine Dion joined Hoda Kotb for an interview on NBC that aired on Tuesday night. It was her first broadcast interview since being diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS). During the candid conversation, the icon opened up about her health struggles and her determination to return to the stage.
The rare neurological autoimmune disease causes stiffness and debilitating spasms that have prevented Dion from performing for the past few years. Dion cited “severe and persistent muscle spasms” when she postponed the start of her 2021 Las Vegas residency. She then postponed her 2022 tour to 2023, and soon after announced that she was postponing her European dates, revealing her diagnosis with SPS.
While speaking with Kotb, Dion said he started out taking 20 milligrams of Valium, which helps suppress painful muscle spasms and seizures caused by the disease, but increased his dose to 90 milligrams after his body developed a tolerance to the powerful drug.
“I honestly didn't think it was going to kill me,” she told Kotb. “Ninety milligrams of Valium can kill you, it can stop you breathing. And at some point, my body got used to 20, 30, 40, and then I finally went up. And I needed that. It relaxes my whole body.”
The Grammy winner tapered off her medications during the pandemic. “I got off everything with the help of my doctors because if you tapered off, it could kill you,” she said. “You can't stop everything.” But without the medication, her symptoms got worse.
In a clip from the interview released last Tuesday, Dion said singing at SPS “feels like someone is choking me,” explaining that she has experienced spasms in her throat, abdomen, spine and ribs, and that one experience was so bad it caused her to break a rib.
trend
Elsewhere in the NBC interview, Dion told Kotb that her decision to go public with her SPS diagnosis came after months of feeling like she was lying to her fans by initially staying silent about her condition. As her symptoms progressed, she said she “just couldn't go on any longer,” adding, “The burden of lying was too much for me. I couldn't lie to the people who supported me to get to where I am now.”
Dion was determined and vowed to return to performing. “I'm going to get back on stage, even if I have to crawl and speak with my hands. I'm going to do it,” she said in an interview with NBC. “I am Celine Dion,” she declared. “And today, for the first time, my voice will be heard. And not just because I have to or because I need to, but because I want to and I miss it.”
