Celine Dion, 55, makes her FIRST APPEARANCE in over THREE years at hockey game in Las Vegas… amid terrifying battle with stiff-person syndrome
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 the Montreal Canadiens took on the Vegas Golden Knights.
In footage posted online, Celine looked to be in great spirits as she greeted players and fans in the locker rooms after the match.
‘A great visit to our game in Vegas yesterday,’ Montreal’s vice-president of hockey communications Chantal Machabée wrote alongside a clip posted to her Instagram. ‘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, 22, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 13.
Rare Outing: Celine Dion made a rare appearance Monday evening at a hockey game in Las Vegas amid her battle with stiff-person syndrome
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.
‘It’s such an honor to meet you,’ Celine told coach Martin St. Louis in French in another video. ‘It was an incredible night.’
She was also heard giving advice to the hockey players, saying, ‘Just stay healthy, strong. Do what you do best.’
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’ five months ago.
‘I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again,’ Celine wrote on Instagram on May 26. ‘I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100%.
‘It’s not fair to you to keep postponing the shows, and even though it breaks my heart, it’s best that we cancel everything now until I’m really ready to be back on stage again,’ she continued.
‘I want you all to know, I’m not giving up and I can’t wait to see you again!’
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
Her older sibling Claudette Dion, 74, has now said she is devastated and 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.
DIagnosis: She revealed her diagnosis in December, which forced her to pull the plug on her ‘Courage World Tour’ five months ago
Apologies: “I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again,” Celine wrote on Instagram on May 26. ‘I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100%.’
‘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’.
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: ‘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.’
Celine’s sons have also been credited with with helping their mother amid her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome.
René-Charles, Eddy and Nelson have been ‘her rock’ as she grapples with the rare neurological condition, a source told Us Weekly.
Helping hand: Celine’s sons have also been credited with with helping their mother amid her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome
Late father: Celine’s three sons’ father is Celine’s late husband René Angélil, who died age 73 in 2016 after they were married for 22 years
Not ready: In September 2019, she said on Today that she wasn’t ready to date after losing her husband to throat cancer
‘Her kids have been her rock… The twins are very mature for their age and René-Charles checks in and dotes on his mom all the time,’ the insider said of the three boys, whose father is Celine’s late husband René Angélil, who died age 73 in 2016 after they were married for 22 years.
Back in January 2020, she posted to Instagram on the fourth anniversary of his death.
‘There is not a day that goes by without me thinking about your beautiful smile,’ she wrote. ‘We miss you, thank you for watching over us my love. I love you. Céline xx.’
In September 2019, she said on Today that she wasn’t ready to date after losing her husband to throat cancer.
‘I don’t date. I’m not ready to date,’ she admitted. ‘I’m very lucky and happy to have so many people in my surrounding to make me — they make me laugh.’
