From Silence to Strength: How Music Helped Zoe Heal

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The first note was shaky, almost hesitant. But as Zoe pressed on the piano’s keys, something inside of her shifted – the pain, the fear, the heaviness of recovery… it all began receding. Once confined to hospital rooms and wordless despair, she found a path that led her back to herself through melody.

Music therapy didn’t just give Zoe a soundtrack; it gave her strength. Zoe’s story proves that music is far more than entertainment – it’s a transformative therapy that helps people heal, rebuild, and triumph when words and medicine fall short.

Zoe Crouse is a 14-year-old teenager with a fiery, fun-loving and caring spirit with immense love and appreciation for music, who was born with the Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Unfortunately, in November 2017, the young girl experienced a cardiac arrest along with a left cerebrum stroke, which resulted in a severe neurological collapse and led her to the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital for treatment. After her cardiac arrest, Zoe’s personality underwent a destabilizing change, transforming a carefree teenager living a “normal life” to being unresponsive to stimuli and unable to communicate with others, to express herself. Specialists kept telling her family that Zoe could possibly never be able to rehabilitate from this incident, and so their hope waned away.

The light at the end of the tunnel for Zoe’s family appeared when she received her first music therapy session, led by Sandra Cheah, a Music Therapy Intern. Zoe’s parents, Corey and Stacy, shared information with her concerning the teen’s relationship with music, telling her that she had just gone to her first concert with her dad to see a performance of her favorite singer, Andrew McMahon. Upon hearing this, Sandra learned one of Andrew McMahon’s songs and played it beside Zoe as she was in her hospital bed. As she made the first notes, an instant reaction arose from Zoe, for the first time since her cardiac arrest and stroke. The teenager began crying to the music and responding with facial expressions, demonstrating her recognition towards the music. This is what motivated Sandra to continue providing music therapy as much as possible for the young girl.

After a few sessions of music therapy, Zoe was able to hum, say “Mom”, reach for the piano, communicate her needs and wants, laugh, cry and release, and even follow directions along with musical cues. But how has Zoe come so far only by hearing music? Well, research shows that music therapy can offer benefits to people with traumatic brain injuries, stroke, learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, pain (acute and chronic) and even cancer. In fact, healthcare providers use music as therapy in many contexts, including bedside for people in hospitals. A recent study involving 256 participants found that an eight-week music therapy intervention “significantly enhanced participants’ emotional resilience, which in turn improved their well-being and employability.” In simpler terms, using music to guide emotions help people feel stronger, which is, for people suffering from anxiety or depression, quite a big deal.

Zoe’s triumph shows that the healing power of music doesn’t belong only to therapy rooms – it belongs to all of us. Whether it’s humming through a bad day, journaling lyrics, or joining a local choir, music can become a tool for self-care. Many hospitals and community centers now offer group music therapy sessions, and organizations like the American Music Therapy Association provide free resources to get started. Even small acts, like playing calming tunes before bed or sharing a favorite song with someone struggling, can spark connection and relief. Just like Zoe’s story teaches us, music is an underrated tool that can bring genuine and life-improving benefits to an individual’s life.

Zoe’s story is born of desperate silence but ended in harmony. Through music, she learned to turn her struggle into strength, to let every note remind her that healing isn’t about forgetting the hurt, but rather transforming it. Her journey is proof that music therapy isn’t just for the diseased or impaired; it’s for anyone learning to find their voice again. If more people opened their ears to what melody can mend, perhaps we’d see fewer broken spirits and more stories like Zoe’s; stories where a simple song becomes the start of a triumph.