Celine Dion 'the picture of resilience' after diagnosis

Friends say Celine Dion is determined to lead with positivity after her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis.

SHARE

SHARE

Celine Dion 'the picture of resilience' after diagnosis
Celine Dion 'the picture of resilience' after diagnosis

Celine Dion is the "picture of resilience" amid her battle with stiff-person syndrome.

The 54-year-old singer - who has children René-Charles, 21, and 11-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy with her late husband René Angélil - revealed her diagnosis in an Instagram video last week but friends say Celine is determined to lead with positivity.

A source told PEOPLE: "Celine is overwhelmed and moved by the outpouring of love and support from her fans. It's been a very difficult time and she has a hard road ahead of her, but she is doing everything she can to get back on stage and see her fans.

"They have always been there for her. For now, she is focusing on her health and her children. She is the picture of resilience."

Celine announced the news about her health in a video, where she also shared that she would be cancelling her European tour.

She told her fans: "I've been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it's been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I've been going through. It hurts me to tell you that I won't be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February.

"Recently, I've been diagnosed with a very rare neurological condition called stiff-person syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people. While we're still learning about this rare condition, we now know that this is what has been causing all of the spasms that I've been having.

"Unfortunately, these spasms affect 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."