Celine Dion makes first appearance in years amid battle with stiff-persons syndrome

Celine Dion has made her first public appearance in years. The legendary singer was spotted Monday in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the Montreal Canadiens took on the Vegas Golden Knights. The Canadiens shared a clip on their Instagram, where the 55-year-old singer appeared in good spirits.

Dion met the team head coach, Martin St. Louis, who said he watched her sing “Une Colombe,” in front of the Pope when she was 14. “We’ve changed a little since then, but not much,” Dion quipped.

Chantal Machabée, Vice President, of Hockey Communications of the Canadiens, also shared photos on Instagram. Dion attended the game with her sons René-Charles, 22, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 13, and met the whole team. “Nice visit at our game in Vegas yesterday. Thank you @celinedion for your great generosity. The whole team was very happy to meet you and your family,” Machabée captioned the post.

Celine Dion’s battle with stiff-person syndrome

According to DailyMail, it’s the singer’s first appearance in three and a half years. She revealed her diagnosis in September 2022 on social media. The rare and incurable condition forced her to cancel all of her tour dates for 2023 and 2024.

“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, the condition affects the central nervous system. “Patients can be disabled, wheelchair-bound or bed-ridden, unable to work and care for themselves,” with common symptoms including,“hyper-rigidity, debilitating pain, chronic anxiety,” and muscle spasms “so violent they can dislocate joints and even break bones.”

Dion vowed that she was not giving up and was working with a sports medicine therapist. She told her loyal fans, “I miss you so much. I miss seeing all of you, being on the stage, performing for you. I always give 100 percent when I do my shows, but my condition is not allowing me to give you that right now.“