Protection Island's Rick Scott was slightly astounded to learn his CD Snooze Music is up for a Western Canadian Music Award.

He never thought the gentle album of lullabies, conceived while his stepson lay in a coma, would enjoy any major recognition or commercial success.

It is nominated in the category of Outstanding Children's Recording.

"That's shocking to me in a way," said Scott, 58, a co-founder of folk trio Pied Pumkin.

The idea for Snooze Music, a collection of 11 dulcimer lullabies, came to the musician 18 months ago. At the time Scott's 40-year-old stepson, Sebastian, lay unconscious at Stanford Medical Centre in California. The man lapsed into a coma following multiple surgeries after it was discovered his heart lacked a main artery -- a congenital defect.

The prognosis was poor. At the medical centre, Sebastian was placed on ice to keep his temperature down. Monitors suggested all brain activity had ceased.

The family, feeling helpless, gathered at his bedside to sing him songs and tell stories from his childhood. During breaks, Scott spent hours walking corridors consoling Sebastian's two-month-old son, Rooks.

Hoping to muffle the sound of hospital beeps and sirens, Scott softly crooned songs he'd also sung to the child's father. That gave him the germ of an idea for an album of lullabies, which became Snooze Music.

Even though he saw little commercial potential for the project, Scott went ahead and recorded it in his Protection Island living room using an Appalachian mountain dulcimer.

One morning at the hospital, Sebastian wiggled a finger. After two weeks he emerged from the coma, albeit blind and unable to walk.

Today, the 42-year-old has regained most of his sight and is able to not only walk but jog. His speech is still somewhat affected however, as is his short-term memory. Sebastian is now living on Protection Island, on the edge of Nanaimo Harbour, with his parents, where he continues to recover.

"His recovery has been nothing short of miraculous," said Scott's wife, Val Hennell.

Others with Vancouver Island ties who are up for awards are: Diana Krall, Marc Atkinson Trio, The Ian McDougall Quintet, Doug Cox, The Bills, Harry Manx and Daniel Powter.

The awards will be presented Oct. 22 in Winnipeg. Details of the performance lineup are expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, said Dean Brokop, executive director of the Western Canadian Music Alliance.

For a full list of nominations, visit: www.westerncanadianmusicawards.ca/achamberlain@tc.canwest.com