Celine Dion says she’s broken ribs and struggled to sing with rare stiff person syndrome

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Celine Dion is sharing details about how difficult her life has become as she lives with stiff person syndrome.

In a clip from an interview with NBC’s Hoda Kotb, the acclaimed singer revealed that it’s “like somebody is strangling you” when she has attempted to sing.

“It’s like someone’s pushing your larynx this way,” Dion told the “Today” co-host as the singer pushed on her throat to demonstrate what she meant.

The spasms can attack different parts of her body, including her abdomen, spine and ribs, she said.

“I have broken ribs at one point because sometimes when it’s very severe, it can break some ribs as well,” the Grammy-winner shared.

The disorder is “a rare, progressive syndrome that affects the nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Dion last year announced she had canceled her “Courage World Tour,” with a source close to her telling CNN at the time that she “will likely never tour again.”

Doctors have located something in Dion’s blood that helps explain why she contracted the rare neurological disorder, according to the NBC report, and she is under care to try to resume more activities.

That is also the focus of an upcoming documentary, “I Am: Celine Dion,” set to stream on Prime Video on June 25. Kotb’s full conversation with Dion airs Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

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