Celine Dion made a rare appearance Monday evening at a hockey game in Las Vegas, Nevada as she continues to battle stiff-person syndrome.
The superstar Titanic singer, 55, was spotted in public for the first time in three-and-a-half years as she greeted fans after watching the Montreal Canadiens take on the Vegas Golden Knights.
Montreal’s vice-president of hockey communications Chantal Machabée took to her Instagram to share a video of the iconic singer, who appeared in great spirits while hugging Machabee.
‘A great visit to our game in Vegas yesterday,’ Machabée wrote alongside the snaps. ‘Thank you Celine Dion for your generosity. The whole team was very happy to meet you and your family.’
Celine was accompanied by her sons René-Charles, and twins Nelson and Eddy, and the family posed with a few of the athletes following the match.
Rare Outing: Celine Dion made a rare appearance Monday night at a hockey game in Las Vegas
Spotted: The superstar, 55, was spotted in public for the first time in 3 1/2 years as she greeted fans after watching the Montreal Canadiens take on the Vegas Golden Knights
Looking in good spirits: Montreal’s vice-president of hockey communications Chantal Machabée took to her Instagram to share a video of the iconic singer, who appeared in great spirits while hugging Machabee
The Grammy winner has kept a very low profile since announcing she was diagnosed with Moersch-Woltman Syndrome in 2022.
The condition, also called Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), is a rare neurological condition that gives people painful muscle spasms.
She revealed her diagnosis in December, which forced her to pull the plug on her ‘Courage World Tour’, and her older sibling Claudette Dion, 74, has now said she is devastated there seems little she and the singer’s family can do to help her ‘strong’ sister or ‘alleviate her pain’.
Claudette told HELLO! Canada: ‘She’s doing everything to recover. She’s a strong woman.
‘It’s an illness we know so little about. There are spasms – they’re impossible to control.
‘You know who people often jump up in the night because of a cramp in the leg or the calf? It’s a bit like that, but in all muscles.
‘There’s little we can do to support her, to alleviate her pain.’
She added mum-of-three Celine’s family is “crossing our fingers that researchers will find a remedy for this awful illness’.
Great visit: ‘A great visit to our game in Vegas yesterday,’ Machabée wrote alongside the snaps. ‘Thank you Celine Dion for your generosity. The whole team was very happy to meet you and your family.’
Family affair: Celine was accompanied by her sons René-Charles, and twins Nelson and Eddy, and the family posed with a few of the athletes following the match
The Grammy winner has kept a very low profile since announcing she was diagnosed with Moersch-Woltman Syndrome in 2022
Condition: The condition, also called Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), is a rare neurological condition that gives people painful muscle spasms
Stiff person syndrome is a rare, progressive neurological disorder that can cause stiff muscles in the torso, arms and legs – and affects about one in a million people.
Celine’s other sister Linda and her husband have moved into the singer’s home in Las Vegas to care for her, and Claudette added: “It’s comforting for us all (to have them near Celine.)”
Claudette has previously revealed that despite working with “the top researchers in the field”, Grammy-winning Celine has seen little improvement in her health.
Reveal: She revealed her diagnosis in December, which forced her to pull the plug on her ‘Courage World Tour’, and her older sibling Claudette Dion, 74, has now said she is devastated there seems little she and the singer’s family can do to help her ‘strong’ sister or ‘alleviate her pain’
Struggle: Claudette told HELLO! Canada: ‘She’s doing everything to recover. She’s a strong woman. ‘It’s an illness we know so little about. There are spasms – they’re impossible to control
She told Le Journal de Montreal: “We can’t find any medicine that works, but having hope is important.”
Claudette said Celine cancelling her ‘Courage’ tour was a necessary move for her chances of rehabilitation.
She added about the singer – whose music producer husband René Angélil, 73, died in 2016 after they were married for 22 years: “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.”
