I Am: Celine Dion: Singer ‘almost died’ during battle with stiff person syndrome

Celine Dion “almost died” during her battle with stiff person syndrome.

The 55-year-old singer – who was diagnosed with the autoimmune neurological disorder, which affects the muscles, in 2022 – will document her health battle in a new feature-length documentary called I Am: Celine Dion.

Shortly before it is released, a new interview with Hoda Kotb will debut on NBC, and the presenter admitted she was shocked by the struggles the My Heart Will Go On hitmaker has faced.

Speaking on Today with Hoda and Jenna on May 23, Kotb said: “It was so jarring to me and moving, I couldn’t believe what they were able to capture in that documentary.

“Celine Dion at some point, she is now much better, but at some point she almost died, which is something she says.”

A trailer for the documentary was also released this week.

Dion says at one point in the promotional clip: “I’m working everyday. But I have to admit, it’s been a struggle.”

The Because You Loved Me singer recently admitted she undergoes different therapies almost every day but she will never be “cured” of her condition.

She told France’s Vogue magazine: “I’m well, but it’s a lot of work. I’m taking it one day at a time.

“I haven’t beat the disease, as it’s still within me and always will be.

“I hope that we’ll find a miracle, a way to cure it with scientific research, but for now I have to learn to live with it. So that’s me, now with stiff person syndrome.

Celine Dion was reduced to tears in the trailer for her documentary, I Am: Celine Dion. Photo / Prime Video

“Five days a week I undergo athletic, physical and vocal therapy.

“I work on my toes, my knees, my calves, my fingers, my singing, my voice ... I have to learn to live with it now and stop questioning myself.”

And Dion, who has Rene-Charles, 23, and 13-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy with late husband Rene Angelil, doesn’t know if or when she will perform again.

Asked if she would be back on stage, she said: “I can’t answer that … because for four years I’ve been saying to myself that I’m not going back, that I’m ready, that I’m not ready.

“As things stand, I can’t stand here and say to you: ‘Yes, in four months.’

“I don’t know ... my body will tell me. On the other hand, I don’t just want to wait.”