Celine Dion's suffering continues

Celine Dion he says singing with stiff person syndrome is like having “someone strangle you”, and reveals he has broken ribs due to spasms.

Celine Dion opened up about the difficulties of performing with stiff person syndrome on “Today,” telling reporter Hoda Kotb about her illness.

In the new interview, the full version of which will air June 11 at 10 pm ET on NBC, Dion demonstrated to Kotb the physical effects of stiff person syndrome. By pressing her fingers into the throat, Dion said, “it's like someone's pushing the larynx, the pharynx, this way.”

Dion continued to speak in a breathy, restrained tone, saying, “It's like you talk like that and you can't go any higher or any lower.”

Stiff person syndrome, diagnosed in Dion in December 2022, is a rare neurological disorder that causes progressive muscle stiffness. In part, Dion explained, these are spasms that can be “abdominal, in the spine, in the ribs.”

“It's like you put your foot down and they stay in that position,” Dion said. “Or, if I cook – because I love to cook – my fingers get cramped and stay in a position where they can't release.”

Dion revealed that she even “broke her ribs at one point. Because she confessed – sometimes, when the attacks are very severe, they can break,” the Canadian singer said.

Stiff person syndrome has prevented Dion from touring and led her to stay mostly out of the spotlight, though she made a surprise appearance at the Grammys in February and earned a big standing ovation.

Dion also opens up about her health battle in a new documentary for Amazon MGM titled “I Am: Celine Dion“.

It will be available for streaming on Prime Video starting June 25th.

A fragment of the interview is visible here