Karine, daughter of Céline's sister Liette, was only 16 years old when she died in Céline’s arms on may 2nd 1993. This memory still brings tears in Céline's eyes everytime she talks about her niece.
Only a month before she died, Karine insisted on watching Céline perform in Montréal. Although she had to be accompanied by nurses ,Karine had somehow found the strength to go to that concert.
In the week leading up to her death, Karine was confined to bed, in critical condition, barley able to swallow.
At the time, Céline was touring out of the country, but when Karine took a turn for the worst, and had to be hospitalised, she cancelled her performances to be with her. Karine had waited for Céline.
"I had her in my arms.", says Céline "And I started to sing softly in her ear (Les Oiseaux Du Bonheur) and out of nowhere her eyes closed. I recall looking to Maman and saying 'It’s happening'. One tear came down to Karine’s cheek...and then she went"
Céline believed in reincarnation and this belief helped her cope with the loss . After Karine’s death, one of Céline songwriters , Jean Jacques Goldman, presented her with a French song called "Vole" what was later translated and recorded in English "Fly". It was dedicated to her niece Karine.
The song had a lot to do with spirit flying free, and Céline who believed in the after-life, believed that Karine was now finally happy.
"Today she breathes" says Céline. "All she wanted was a normal life." For Céline, the shock of finding out about Karine‘s illness had happened so many years before. But the pain was real as it was just yesterday.
It had been a happy occasion when Karine was born, on 28 February 1977. Céline (then almost nine years old) loved babies. But only 2 months later, in April, Liette came to the house, worried about her daughter. Karine had been sick with what the doctors has said was only the gastic flu. But Liette sensed that something was terribly wrong with her baby. On the way to the clinic Liette stopped by the Dion-house. After all, no one knew more than Maman Dion when it came to babies. Maman went outside and bent over the pram to hug Karine. Suddenly she recoiled in shock "Quickly!" she begged "Go to that clinic..."
It was until later that night that Liette returned to the house distraught. It hurt Céline to see her sister in so much pain. Maman took her aside and Liette told her that Karine had an incurable disease, Cystic Fibrosis, simply called CF. Maman and Liette were about 10 minutes in the kitchen, and after that they were ready to tell the news to Céline and Papa. Even though Maman was a nurse herself before she married she never heard about CF , Liette explained that it was an extremely rare hereditary illness that could be passed on by 2 people carrying the gene for CF a fatal disorder which primarily attacks the respiratory and digestive systems. Nowadays the ages of people with CF is +- 25 till 30 years old.
From the age of 14 Céline gave special performances to help financing the search for a cure - something she would continue to do throughout her career.
Céline spent as much time with Karine as possible and did whatever she could to make her happy, like taking her to shopping malls - oxygen tank and all - and buying her anything she wanted, Céline cherished this loving child. "Karine made me discover something marvellous, and indefinable," she explains. "Something between love and hope"
One incredible memory for Liette ( Karine’s mum) was when Céline preformed at "Montréal’s Place des Arts Theatre" for the first time in May 1983 "Céline dedicated a song to me," recalls Liette. "She sang 'Tellement J’ai D’amour Pour Toi'. Before singing that song, she told me in the microphone: 'Imagine it is your own daughter who is singing it to you. This evening I dedicate it to you only'" And from all wonderful memories of their childhood and teenage years, this was the most beautiful moment of all.
One of the songs dedicated to Karine is 'Vole' it is on D’eux (aka the French album) and this is what Céline has said about it: "It’s a hard song to sing, but when Jean Jacques Goldman wrote 'D’eux' for me ,he gave me that song and said: 'Don’t look at it, it’s a gift I give you.' I recorded the whole album -except that song- and after the end of this album I looked at it. And of course I cried a lot. I wanted to sing it. This is something I wanted to say to her. This is something I wanted to give her. That gift. I started to sing the song many times, but I was crying to much. It was to hard for me, Then I changed my mind, came back to the studio and did it live with a piano. I’m glad I did."
If you wanted to know more about CF you can visit the homepage of the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation or the Dutch CF Homepage.