Céline Dion’s sons train to help her if she experiences a health crisis
By Marianne Garvey, CNN
(CNN) — Céline Dion’s three sons have been a great source of support to her since she was diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome in 2022.
The legendary singer, herself the youngest of 14 children, reflected on the importance of family in times of challenge in an interview with People.
“Both [my] parents were extraordinary,” Dion said. “There’s been really, really, really tough times where my dad was working constantly and my mom only had love for us. We were not going to miss food, love, attention, affection, nothing.”
She credits her late parents, Adhémar and mom Thérèse, for giving her strength.
“The strength that I have is definitely because of them,” she added. “They are still giving me a lot of strength in my life.”
Dion said she treats her children, René-Charles, 23, and 13-year-old twins Eddy and Nelson she shares with late husband Réne Angélil, the same.
“I [coped] with losing my mom and losing my dad and losing one of my brothers and losing the father of my kids — my husband, my manager — at the same time,” Dion explained. “I did not want my kids to be scared.”
Dion said works she works with her medical team to educate her sons about her treatment and they have practiced what to do if she experiences a “crisis” episode in which she is unable to move and in excruciating pain.
“They saw a crisis — we explained it, we played it frame by frame. When I make a sound, or when I don’t make a sound, and what can they do because they’re 13 years old,” she said. “They can help me out even if I don’t communicate verbally because I can’t produce a sound. We have panic buttons in the house and they know how to put me on my side.”
She is persevering.
“I let them know, okay, you lost your dad, [but] mom has a condition, and it’s different. I’m not going to die,” Dion said. “It’s not something that’s going to go away, [but] it’s something that I’m going to learn to live with.”
Dion opens up about her health and life in the upcoming documentary, “I Am Céline Dion,” which streams on Prime Video on June 25.
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