A bucket collection will be held for the East Anglian Air Ambulance at this Saturday's home match between Lowestoft Town FC and Banbury United FC at Crown Meadow.
Those supporters who were at the Banbury match in December last year will recall how the match was halted after just 45 seconds to allow the Thames Valley Air Ambulance to land on the pitch.
This was to attend to Zbigniew Modrzejewski (Ziby) who had fallen off the roof of a nearby building.
Ziby (pictured), the proprietor of Modlen Garage - a family-run business specialising in MOT, Servicing and Repair - adjacent to Banbury United’s ground, fell from the roof of his garage while carrying out repairs and suffered major injuries to his head and upper body.
It was decided to air lift him to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford by the Thames Valley Air Ambulance service.
Within minutes of being summoned, the air ambulance was able to land on the pitch and the paramedics and doctor attended to the seriously injured ex-Polish Paratrooper.
Ziby required emergency treatment and a cranioplasty – plate in the skull operation – and four weeks in hospital.
Now fully recovered Ziby has no recollection of the incident but is obviously very grateful to the Thames Valley Air Ambulance and the medical team at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
Ziby said: “Thank you to the Air Ambulance Service” and that he was “A very lucky man”.
The East Anglian Air Ambulance exists to save lives by delivering highly skilled doctors and critical care paramedics by air or car to seriously ill or injured people in the region.
As a life-saving charity, it is only kept airborne thanks to our incredible supporters. Thank you.
Since launching in 2000 EAAA have attended over 27,000 lifesaving missions, touching the lives of many thousands of people.
The crew comprises specialist pre-hospital doctors and critical care paramedics, operating out of two high-tech helicopters from 07:00 until 19:00 from our Norwich base and from 07:00 until midnight from our Cambridge base.
EAAA were the first air ambulance in the country to attend helicopter emergency medical incidents in the hours of darkness to unknown and unlit sites.
The EAAA mission is to save lives 24/7 by providing the best possible outcomes for patients who have been involved in a life-threatening or life-changing accident or medical emergency, through:
The combination of a quick response time, emergency clinical care on scene and quick transfer to the appropriate hospital
The delivery of first aid training to communities in East Anglia to help form the chain of survival
Dedicated aftercare support to help with the recovery of our patients and their families.
With a mission to become a 24/7 HEMS service, the vision is to become a life-saving service that is operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week by 2020 - but the public's help help is needed to achieve it.
A EAAA spokesman said: "To operate a 24/7 service across East Anglia we need to raise an additional £1 million each year, on top of the £12 million we already need to raise.
"With your support, we estimate that we could attend up to 600 additional missions and be there for over 400 more patients who need our help every year."
Mark Kemp, Finance Director at Lowestoft Town FC, said: "The incident at Banbury last year highlighted our magnificent emergency services and we are delighted to be able to allow the EAAA to hold a bucket collection, fittingly against Banbury during our home match on Saturday.
"We hope supporters will give generously to this very worthwhile, and life-saving service."