In his early 20s, Max Starkloff was in a near-fatal car accident, which left him quadriplegic and living in a nursing home.

One day he came across a young woman who worked there, named Colleen. At StoryCorps in St. Louis, Colleen Kelly Starkloff (right) sat down with her daughter, Meaghan Starkloff Breitenstein (left), to remember Max.

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Originally aired January 16, 2015, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Top photo of Max Starkloff courtesy of Colleen Kelly Starkloff.