Celine Dion has made a rare public appearance for the first time in almost four years after having been diagnosed with an incurable condition. The 'My Heart Will Go On' singer, 55, was seen attending an NHL hockey game on Monday night as she happily posed for photos with friends. Celine attended the game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Montreal Canadiens at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, before going back to her hometown team's locker room after it ended. Chantal Machabée, who is Vice President for Hockey Communications of the Canadiens, shared some snaps with the iconic singer from the evening on social media. [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEQuVJMgQ3]] In the photos, Celine is seen with her arm around Chantal as the pair smile at the camera, with Chantal in all black while Celine wears a cream knitted co-ord set with a white quilted gilet over the top. Chantal captioned the snaps: "Nice visit at our game in Vegas yesterday. Thank you @celinedion for your great generosity. The whole team was very happy to meet you and your family." Celine had attended the game with her sons René-Charles, 22, and twins, Eddy and Nelson, 13, and was seen shaking hands with members of the team as well as taking photos backstage. It comes after Celine took a three-and-a-half-year break from public appearances, after revealing last year that she had been <a href="https://vt.co/entertainment/ovn-what-is-stiff-person-syndrome-as-celine-dion-reveals-heartbreaking-diagnosis">diagnosed with stiff person syndrome. </a> Stiff person syndrome is a rare and incurable neurological disease that causes progressive muscle stiffness and painful spasms. It affects the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord, and rigidity can fluctuate, mainly affecting the torso, arms, and legs. <img class="wp-image-1263235136 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/11/GettyImages-1182492223.jpg" alt="Celine Dion " width="683" height="1024" />[[imagecaption|| The singer has remained out of the limelight in recent years. Credit: Robert Kamau/GC Images]] It is more commonly seen in women than men, and can be exacerbated by noise, touch, and emotional distress, according to the <a href="https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/stiff-person-syndrome">National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke</a>. Scientists do not yet know what causes stiff person syndrome but believe it is an autoimmune response in the body which goes awry in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms can be kept under control using medication including muscle relaxants, however, there is currently no cure. Celine had opened up about <a href="https://vt.co/news/entertainment-news/celine-dion-diagnosed-with-neurological-disease">her diagnosis last December,</a> as she was forced to cancel her Courage World Tour as a result. [[jwplayerwidget||https://cdn.jwplayer.com/videos/J7DGgOuw-dkXnENEs.mp4||J7DGgOuw]] She told her followers in a video message at the time: "Hello everyone, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reach out to you. I miss you all so much and can’t wait to be on stage talking to you in person. "I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time and it has been really difficult for me to face my challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through. "Recently I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called the stiff person syndrome which affects one in a million people." <img class="wp-image-1263235137 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/11/GettyImages-1182492182.jpg" alt="celine dion" width="682" height="1024" />[[imagecaption|| Celine hopes she will be able to perform again in future. Credit: Robert Kamau/GC Images/Getty Images]] She also opened up about how the condition affects her daily life, explaining: "Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal chords to sing the way I'm used to." Celine also apologized for the difficult decision to cancel her world tour, adding in a statement: "I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again. I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100%." <h6>Featured image credit: Robert Kamau/GC Images</h6>

Celine Dion makes first public appearance in three and a half years following incurable disease diagnosis

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