When a fall on Table Mountain changed everything for Scotty Joscelyne, it was music, not medicine, that helped him find his voice again.
Western Cape, South Africa (13 April 2025) – When words failed, music found a way. Scotty Joscelyne was an active young professional in his 30s, living a vibrant life that included adventure, movement and freedom. But everything changed in February 2022. While hiking up Table Mountain, he suffered a devastating accident that landed him in hospital for months… and during recovery, he also had a stroke.
In one unthinkable moment, his life shifted. His body, his brain and his plans all changed. The man who once climbed mountains was now navigating a new one: the long, steep path of recovery.
But this isn’t a sad story.
This is a story of song, strength and something extraordinary.
That’s when Nethaniëlle Mattison stepped in… a 31-year-old music therapist from Johannesburg with a gift for using sound to heal. In September 2022, six months after Scotty’s life-altering accident, she met him for the first time. It was his uncle, all the way in the UK, who had reached out in hope, believing music might offer what words could not. And he was right.
“When I met Scotty about six months after his accident, the impact was clear. He was with his parents, and it was a deeply emotional meeting. He struggled with speech, but his ability to recall and sing songs was remarkable,” Nethaniëlle says.
“That’s where we found our initial connection, through the shared language of music. It was clear our work would heavily involve singing, building a bridge of communication through familiar melodies.”
Their very first session involved Oasis’s “Wonderwall” and “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles. Songs from Scotty’s past. Songs he could recall and sing effortlessly, despite struggling to speak in full sentences. That moment sparked something powerful.
“His attention was fragile at first. Sessions had to be short, just 15 minutes at most,” Nethaniëlle explains.
“But even in that short time, music reached him in a way nothing else could.”
And so began a journey of healing through harmony. Scotty’s sessions slowly grew in length and depth. They didn’t just sing old favourites, they began writing new songs. Songs that told his story. That spoke to his resilience. That said: I’m still here. And that’s enough.
“Even when he couldn’t find the words, he could sing them,” Nethaniëlle says.
“There was a session where we focused on expressing his frustration and grief. Being unable to communicate leaves a person feeling trapped. We used expressive music, and he released his emotions by throwing wet sponges against a wall. It was a powerful, cathartic experience. It validated his feelings, which is crucial. Often, we focus on the positive, but we must acknowledge the difficult emotions too. Music allowed him to express what words couldn’t, and it was a profound shift in his emotional well-being.”
The science backs this up. Music activates more of the brain than speech. And for stroke survivors and those with traumatic brain injuries, like Scotty, music can open doors where language has shut them.
“Music engages both hemispheres of the brain. And with aphasia, where speech is affected, singing can help bypass the damaged areas and spark communication,” she explains.
“It’s the brain’s way of finding another route home.”
Over the last two years, they’ve written and recorded original songs that reflect Scotty’s journey. Songs about finding light in the dark. Songs about dignity. About being worthy just by being alive.
And Scotty’s favourite part?
“It felt awesome,” he says about singing again for the first time.
“Music has helped me. It’s given me joy and expression. It’s helped with my speech… and it’s fun.”
When asked what he’d want to say to someone else in a similar situation, his message is simple, but deeply moving.
“Remember my songs. It is not all over. There is still life, it just looks different. It is also okay to miss the things from before.”
That might just be the most powerful lyric of all.
For Nethaniëlle, the experience has been just as transformative.
“Scotty has taught me so much. His courage has inspired me to be more compassionate with my own vulnerability. My clients are my greatest teachers, and he’s brought a deep softness to my life.”
Their story is a reminder that healing doesn’t always look the way we expect it to. It’s not always medical charts and milestones. Sometimes, it’s a melody. A lyric. A shared chorus in a quiet room.
It’s not about returning to the life you had. It’s about building something new with the life you still have.
And for Scotty, that life is full of music.
by 