Hoda Kotb recently revealed that Celine Dion “almost died” during her battle with stiff person syndrome.
During a recent episode of Hoda and Jenna, Kotb teased her upcoming interview with Dion.
“Celine Dion at some point, she is now much better, but at some point, she almost died, which is something that she says,” Hoda Kotb revealed.
“It was a scary time,” Kotb said.
Hoda Kotb Teases Interview With Celine Dion: “She Almost Died” From Stiff Person Syndrome
When interviewing Dion, Kotb asked about her battle stiff person syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder. Dion first shared her diagnosis in December of 2022.
According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), “Stiff person syndrome (SPS) is a rare acquired neurological disorder that most often causes progressive muscle stiffness (rigidity) and repeated episodes of painful muscle spasms. Muscular rigidity often fluctuates (i.e., grows worse and then improves) and usually occurs along with the muscle spasms.”
In a recent interview with Vogue, Dion explained that her SPS first affected her voice back in 2008.
“Quite rapidly, I was having difficulty controlling my voice,” she said in the Vogue interview. “It would go really high, and then it would spasm.”
However, “[doctors] looked at [my vocal cords] from every angle, and they said it was pristine.”
Eventually, “I started having a hard time walking,” she explained. “I was holding on to things.”
It wasn’t until 2020 that Dion took the opportunity to finally explore a possible diagnosis.
“I no longer wanted to be brave. I had tried as long as I could,” she said. “It was time for me to be smart.”
After rounds of tests, “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 confirmed on the TODAY show.
“She talks about what it’s done to her voice and the possibility of a comeback,” Kotb continued, noting that Dion — though reluctant — actually sang for her. “It sounded incredible to me.”
“We’ve missed her, and it was a very emotional interview,” Kotb said. “We’ll see where she is in her journey of coming back.”
The full interview with Dion is set to air on Tuesday, June 11.
