The power of love CELINE'S HOPES FOR A CURE

The long-suffering singer's determined to have her encore

In the days following the death of her husband René Angélil, fans of Celine Dion feared she may never find the strength to go on.

Theirs had been a love that had endured against the odds, overcoming not only the challenges of a 26-year age gap but also the pitfalls of life in the spotlight.

If Celine had said it once, she'd said it a thousand times: René was the love of her life, the only man she had ever kissed. He was her everything.

Slowly, the My Heart Will Go On singer recovered from the heartbreak, eventually returning to perform the last shows of her Las Vegas residency and even becoming a fashion icon.

Recently, just when the 54-year-old singing sensation seemed ready to take flight once again with her Courage World Tour, she has been dealt another blow - this time by a mystery illness.

Celine has been forced to postpone more and more dates of her comeback tour as she deals with what she has described as a problem with muscle spasms.

"The good news is that I'm doing a little bit better," she said recently. "I'm getting treatment from my doctors, taking medication, but I'm still experiencing some spasms, and it's taking a lot longer for me to recover than I had hoped."

The star first shared the news of her condition in October last year and is now not expected to resume her tour until next year.