'SHE'S WORKING HARD TO GET WELL' - CELINE DION

THE STAR'S SISTER CLAUDETTE DION OPENS UP ABOUT THE GRAMMY WINNER'S HEALTH BATTLE, HER COURAGE AND THEIR ENDURING BOND

- MICHAEL KILLINGSWORTH

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

If anyone can rise to a challenge, it’s Celine Dion. She’s the one who put her career on pause as a teenager to conquer English; followed doctors’ orders to a T in the ’90s when advised to go silent for three weeks to address vocal cord issues; and famously stepped away from the spotlight, twice, to support her late husband, René Angélil, after he was diagnosed with cancer.

Now as she faces her own serious health battle, the mom of three sons (RenéCharles, 22, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 12) is bringing that same focus to her recovery. “She’s working hard to get well,” says her sister and fellow recording artist Claudette, reflecting on Celine’s diagnosis of Stiff Person Syndrome, which she revealed to the world in December. “It’s an illness we know so little about. I’m sure I don’t have to do much to convince you of how disciplined she is. She’s doing everything to recover.”

The condition, as the “My Heart Will Go On” singer explained in an emotional social media post, is a rare neurological disorder that causes spasms affecting “every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.” Added Celine: “I have a great team of doctors [and] I’m working hard with my sports medicine therapist every day to build back my strength and my ability to perform again. But I have to admit it’s been a struggle.”

That announcement put the 2021 cancellation of a planned Las Vegas comeback into perspective (it was attributed to “muscle spasms” at the time) and further delayed the return of her