“Up to 90 milligrams of Valium per day.” A closer look at Celine Dion’s seizures

“Love letter”. That’s how Celine Dion describes the documentary, available on Prime Video starting June 25, that follows her battle with the disease. In a short video broadcast on June 18 ahead of the Paris press screening I’m Celine DionThe artist, who has sold 220 million albums, explains that this film is above all “a way to talk to his fans”.

“I don’t want to lie anymore”

And for good reason, in May 2023, after several postponements, Celine Dion was forced to cancel around forty European concerts scheduled to take place between August 2023 and April 2024. until I’m really ready to go back on stage. I want you to know that I’m not giving up,” she later explained on her website. But between now and the release announcement I’m Celine Dion, he preferred to remain silent about his health condition. Past era. the translator of My heart will keep beating “You don’t want to lie anymore.”

During the documentary, Celine Dion is revealed in a way we’ve never seen her before. unvarnished and vulnerable from the first minutes. After a brief introduction, the viewer is actually plunged into the heart of the neurological disorder the singer suffers from, Stiff Man Syndrome. The 56-year-old star appears to be lying on the floor in her hotel room, her body in convulsions. The phone’s camera films his teams as they try to help him before calling the fire department. The sad scene continues until the arrival of the latter.

The show must go on

It was in December 2022 that the artist revealed that he suffers from this pathology, which affects one in two million people and causes the stiffness of all muscles, including the vocal cords. What she didn’t say at the time was that she had been diagnosed 17 years earlier. “One morning, after breakfast, my voice was louder than usual,” he says, adding that the day after the concert, his tired voice had to “go down to the bass.” Over the years, and despite multiplying symptoms, she continued her career at a furious pace, with world tours, new albums, a residency in Las Vegas, and more. “When I walked into the recording studio, I knew they wanted Celine Dion, who plays the highest notes there, the best,” she recalls, recognizing her talent.

But little by little his body leaves him. “I got to the point where I couldn’t walk anymore, I was losing my balance,” he admits. His voice, which has always been his “common thread of life”, is also weakening. The artist then uses and abuses the fakes to “not let anything show.” At the medical level: first. “One more pill, two more, five more, too many pills (…) Up to 90 milligrams of Valium a day,” he says, while admitting that he resorted to self-medication. “I don’t want to sound like I’m making a fuss, but I could die.” Then, logically, the deterioration of his health condition begins to be expressed on stage. On numerous occasions when his vocal cords no longer respond, he invites the audience to sing in his place, taps the microphone to pretend a technical problem, and at the worst moments leaves the stage under the pretense of a “vocal change”. held,” without returning to it later.

“I’ll Never Stop”

Although frail, Celine Dion looks combative. Despite the difficulty of everyday life, his goal remains unchanged: to reunite with the stage. “I miss it terribly. Society. I miss him,” she admits, sounding sobbing. While recording the title Love again, the soundtrack to the 2023 romantic comedy of the same name, he imagines a new version of himself. Why not try a new style without vocal performances? The road doesn’t matter to him, only the destination matters. “If I can’t run anymore, I can walk. “If I can’t walk anymore, I can crawl… I will never stand,” the artist claims.

But as the documentary seems to be drawing to a close, a new crisis, unexpected, insidious and violent, surprises Celine Dion after the recording session and in the middle of a physical therapy session. It begins with the first leg spasm, followed by the second. In a few seconds, the singer’s hands become stiff. While he lies on his stomach, his physical therapist stimulates his limbs to ward off the impending attack. In vain.

A face frozen in pain

The star’s legs twitch, then the whole body. Placing her in a lateral safety position, the health care worker exposes the singer’s face to the camera. He froze in pain from grinning, his mouth was open. She groaned, her body still spasming. Her wide eyes are flooded with tears. His medical team is busy surrounding him, constantly talking to him and making sure he is conscious even though he is trapped in his body. They administer medication, ask him to breathe calmly and monitor the time to assess whether or not he needs to call for help. After about twenty minutes, which seems to last an eternity, the intensity of the spasms decreases, Celine Dion’s body relaxes, and the singer gradually regains consciousness.

This crisis is as trying as it is terrifying, and the Canadian diva wants to understand its origins. When questioned, his physiotherapist believes that the emotional rollercoaster the artist experienced while recording in his studio is definitely the trigger. A diagnosis that has the effect of a cold shower for the artist, and which will undoubtedly worry his millions of fans. Because in this context, it’s reasonable to expect Celine Dion to return to the stage one day.

I’m Celine Diondirected by Irène Taylon, available from June 25 on Prime Video.