NEWSCeline Dion 'Almost Died' Amid Stiff-Person Syndrome Battle, Hoda Kotb Reveals: 'It Was a Scary Time'
May 23 2024, Published 4:25 p.m. ET
Celine Dion is pulling back the curtain on her battle with stiff-person syndrome.
Hoda Kotb spoke to the singer, 56, in an interview that will air on June 11 about her health journey and how she almost didn't make it.
“Celine Dion at some point, she is now much better, but at some point she almost died, which is something that she says,” Kotb shared on the Thursday, May 23, episode of Hoda and Jenna.
“It was a scary time,” the 59-year-old TV star added.
The singer is battling stiff-person syndrome.
Earlier in the day, Kotb said on the Today show that she spoke to Dion about the rare autoimmune neurological disorder.
“She was diagnosed with a terrible disease and at one point she wondered if she was going to make it, whether she was going to live through it,” Kotb noted. “A lot of people are wondering what happened. What was wrong."
Hoda Kotb said the singer almost died during her health battle.
“We’ve missed her and it was a very emotional interview,” Kotb added. “We’ll see where she is on her journey of coming back, but I know people are cheering her on.”
Though Dion was hesitant to sing for Kotb, she ended up doing so and sounded "incredible," the journalist said.
Celine Dion will also release a documentary about her health woes.
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As OK! previously reported, Dion opened up about what she's been going through as of late in her new documentary, I Am: Celine Dion — which will be available to stream via Prime Video on June 25.
“It’s not hard to do a show, you know. It’s hard to cancel a show,” she said in the emotional clip, referencing when she had to postpone her world tour due to being sick. “I’m working hard everyday. But I have to admit, it’s been a struggle. I miss it so much. The people, I miss them. If I can’t run, I’ll walk. If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl. I won’t stop.”
The singer said she's 'taking it one day at a time.'
In another interview, the musical artist shared an update with how she's been coping. "I'm well, but it's a lot of work. I'm taking it one day at a time," she shared.
"Five days a week, I undergo athletic, physical, and vocal therapy. I have to learn to live with it now and stop questioning myself," she noted.
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Dion was also asked when she would return to the stage again, to which she replied, "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," the mother-of-three concluded.
