Celine Dion Marked Stiff Person Syndrome Awareness Day With a Rare Family Photo

Celine Dion is marking Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) Awareness Day with her strongest supporters: her three sons, René-Charles Angélil and twins Eddy and Nelson. On Friday, the singer, who was diagnosed with the rare neurological disease more than a year ago, shared a rare family photo with her children along with an encouraging message for others living with the condition on Instagram.

"Today the world recognizes International SPS Awareness Day," Dion began her note, which was also posted in French. "As many of you know, in the fall of 2022, I was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS). Trying to overcome this autoimmune disorder has been one of the hardest experiences of my life, but I remain determined to one day get back onto the stage and to live as normal of a life as possible. I am deeply grateful for the love and support from my kids, family, team and all of you!"

She added, "I want to send my encouragement and support to all those around the world that have been affected by SPS. I want you to know you can do it! We can do it!"

Dion first went public with her diagnosis in December 2022 with an emotional clip posted to Instagram. "Recently, I've been diagnosed with a very rare neurological condition called stiff-person syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people," she said in her video. "While we're still learning about this rare condition, we now know that this is what has been causing all of the spasms that I've been having." According to the Stiff Person Syndrome Foundation, these muscle spasms can be "so violent they can dislocate joints and even break bones."

Later this year, Dion's health journey will be chronicled in a new documentary titled I Am: Céline Dion on Amazon Prime. "This last couple of years has been such a challenge for me," the singer said in a statement per E! News. "The journey from discovering my condition to learning how to live with and manage it, but not to let it define me."

"As the road to resuming my performing career continues, I have realized how much I have missed it, being able to see my fans," the statement continued. "During this absence, I decided I wanted to document this part of my life, to try to raise awareness of this little-known condition, to help others who share this diagnosis."

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