Celine Dion's charity has pledged $2 million to the ongoing fight against Autoimmune Neurology.
With this funding, the Celine Dion Foundation will establish the Celine Dion Foundation Endowed Chair in Autoimmune Neurology, with Amanda Piquet, MD, FAAN, director of the Autoimmune Neurology Program at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campusnamed as the inaugural chair holder.
This “significant gift,” a statement says, will provide financial support for students, research expenses, conference participation, curriculum development and other initiatives prioritized by Piquet, and will enhance the scholar's focus on translation studies.
Dion, who was diagnosed with the rare autoimmune and neurological disorder Stiff-Person Syndrome in 2022, announced the financial support Monday at the premiere of her upcoming documentary. I am: Celine Dion.
While symptoms of the chronic disorder began to appear in the mid-2000s, they gradually worsened, until Dion announced in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with the terminal condition, which caused her to cancel a planned tour that year.
In an emotional tribute to NBC that aired last week, Dion described being terrified when symptoms of the disorder began to affect her in 2008, affecting her mobility and causing convulsions so severe they broke ribs and sometimes made her feel that “someone is strangling you.”
The dynamic Canadian singer has not appeared on stage since March 2020, but the door is not closed when he returns to the stage.
In a separate interview for Quebec TVA, Dion discussed why she went public with her ordeal. “My fans deserve to know what's going on,” he says. “They have given me and my family an extraordinary life since the age of 12, [and now I’m 56]. I'm not going to let them down.”
I am: Celine Dion is directed by Irene Taylor and is available worldwide from June 25 on Prime Video.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/celine-dion-foundation-pledges-2-million-autoimmune-neurology-1235712123/