Israeli singer and actor Amir Fryszer Guttman was in critical condition Sunday, a day after drowning in an undeclared beach in the northern coastal town of Atlit. Fryszer Guttman, formerly of Israel's first boy band Hi-Five, saved his 5-year-old niece from drowning on Saturday but was overpowered by the strong current. Paramedics who arrived at the scene said Fryszer Guttman was not breathing and had no pulse when he was pulled out of the water. He was rushed to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, where he remains in the intensive care unit. "He arrived in Rambam with no heartbeat as resuscitation efforts were ongoing," ICU director Dr. Yaron Bar Lavi, said. "He had no vital signs for about 50 minutes. After 10 minutes of treatment, we got his heart beating again, but his condition is very complex and unstable. His life is in danger." A hospital official said that "even if he survives the next hours and days, his condition is not good. It is unclear what neurological damage was caused while he had no heartbeat and his brain wad deprived of oxygen." Fryszer Guttman, who two years ago was misdiagnosed with lymphoma, was at the beach to celebrate a year since learning he was not ill. "July 22 is my new birthday," he said last year after learning he was misdiagnosed. On Friday he traveled to celebrate "a year since his rebirth" with 30 of his close friends and relatives, but the celebration took a horrifying turn on Saturday, one year to the day since he received a clear bill of health, as the 41-year-old drowned. His friends decorated the beach ahead of the celebration with signs from the hit television show "Survivor." Fryszer Guttman recorded the celebration on camera for an Israeli reality TV show called "Mehubarim" ("Connected"). When he gathered guests in a circle on Friday, he passed them one-by-one and personally thanked them for their support during his difficult days. Singer Michal Amdursky, a close friend of Fryszer Guttman, recalled the incident on Facebook. "We were at the Atlit beach. The sea is deadly today. Waves, rips and sinkholes. [Guttman] entered with his niece, 5-year-old Shahar, and another friend, Yael. Within seconds they were swept away. He held Shahar above the water so that she wouldn't drown and he became exhausted. My husband Geoffrey and two other guys with surfboards ran to into the water to get them out. The sea was horrible and it was impossible to quickly get back to shore. He [Guttman] swallowed a lot of water, as did Shahar. She's OK, in the emergency room. He's on a respirator in intensive care, in critical condition." Magen David Adom paramedics Assaf Dayan and Marek Kozmankov, who were first at the scene, said that Fryszer Guttman's friends had already begun basic CPR on him when they arrived. The paramedics took over resuscitation efforts and rushed him to the hospital as CPR efforts continued. Tragically, Guttman shared a Facebook post about a week and a half ago with advice on how to prevent drowning. The post details how to conduct oneself while being swept away from the shore in undeclared beaches -- exactly what happened to him Saturday. Last week, Fryszer Guttman filed a 5 million shekel ($1.4 million) damages lawsuit against Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv for misdiagnosing his condition. In recent months, he has been working on a new musical, "The Hospital," based on his story. The singer's family and friends thanked the public for the outpouring of support and asked the public to pray for his recovery.
