(CNN) -- It was the late 1960s and Tom Repasky was in a fog. 

H. Michael Karshis owns thousands of albums but Steely Dan's "Can't Buy a Thrill" holds a special place in his heart. 

"I was trying to discover who I was, what I was and what I was doing here," he said. 

In 1963, at age 14, Repasky was on a field trip with his seminary when he and another student accidentally fell down a steep ledge while throwing rocks at upperclassmen. A tree broke his friend's fall, but Repasky was not so lucky. 

Repasky awoke in the hospital, but says he was unable to remember even the smallest detail of his past. "It was as if I didn't exist before that time," he said. 

This experience scarred him, to the point that he was asked to leave the seminary by the end of the year. "I clearly was not the same person," he said. "After my near-death experience, there was this prolonged period of not being able to relate to reality very well." 

Several years after his accident, Repasky first heard the Moody Blues song "Nights in White Satin." "After I heard these lyrics, I thought, 'They know what I'm feeling.' " 

He sought out their album "Days of Future Passed." He was particularly drawn to the lyrics from their song "Dawn is a Feeling:" "You are here today; no future fears; this day will last 1,000 years, if you want it to." 

Repasky, who now lives in Danville, Pennsylvania, and is an artist, often goes back to this album. "When I hear the music, it brings me to the point of realizing that I had experienced life and I could be alive, and it brings me great joy in knowing that." The part of "Nights in White Satin" where the words "I love you" are repeated always moves Repasky, even 40 years later. iReport.com: Watch Repasky tell his story 
What is the name of Steely Dan's album?
 Steely Dan's "Can't Buy a Thrill"