Latest news with #Markiewicz
USA Today
3 days ago
- Health
- USA Today
'A guardian angel': Teen saves choking Texas Roadhouse employee with Heimlich maneuver
SOUTH BEND — Fifteen-year-old Valeria Markiewicz was eating at Texas Roadhouse with her family for her mother's birthday dinner when she saw something alarming — an employee choking. And also alarming was the fact that nobody seemed to know how to help. The employee, Dekari Henderson, said he was talking with his manager while eating a steak kabob when he realized a piece had gotten stuck in his throat. His manager tried to help, Henderson said, but he couldn't dislodge the food. Henderson said he'd almost drowned as a child, so he'd experienced what it feels like to be in a life-threatening situation. And when he saw his manager wasn't able to help him, Henderson said, he knew he was in another one. "I looked back at him … and I honestly gave up that day," he said. "Sad to say, but I did, because I knew my life was fading." But Markiewicz didn't hesitate. "I was like, 'Oh my goodness, something has to be done,'" she said. "… He was turning purple, his lips were a different color. And so I ran over there, and I'm like, 'I'm CPR certified, I got this.'" Markiewicz performed the Heimlich maneuver on Henderson, helping him expel the food and ultimately saving his life. Henderson described Markiewicz as "a guardian angel," saying he wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for her. "She beat the life into me," he said. "That's the best way I can explain it." Markiewicz learned life-saving techniques in a high school class Markiewicz recently finished her freshman year at New Prairie High School, and she said she was able to help Henderson because of one of the classes she'd taken. During the year, she was enrolled in a biomedical science class taught by Tonya Aerts, who now works at Legacy Medical Academy after 19 years of teaching at New Prairie. Aerts, who won a national award this year for her work promoting sudden cardiac arrest preparedness, said Markiewicz and the other students in the class had just earned their CPR certifications in fall 2024 when the incident occurred in January 2025. She said she remembered the day Markiewicz told her about what had happened. "I come into work on a Monday morning, and there's Valeria standing at my door, which was unusual, and she was so excited to tell me, I quote, 'I saved a life this weekend,'" Aerts said. "And I was just so excited for her, but so impressed with her courage and her bravery to step up when other people didn't know what to do." Aerts has been instrumental in encouraging Indiana schools to become "Heart Safe" by meeting set standards and conducting regular emergency preparedness training. She said this is the second time someone's life has been saved because of training at the New Prairie United School Corp.; when a parent collapsed in the parking lot of New Prairie Middle School due to a cardiac arrest over a year ago, school staff was able to respond and revive him, and he survived. Aerts nominated Markiewicz for the LaPorte County Citizen of the Year Award, an annual award from the LaPorte County Emergency Medical Services that recognizes citizens who have made a difference in the community. In May, Markiewicz was named the award's 2025 recipient. Markiewicz said she'd learned a variety of life-saving techniques in Aerts' class, including CPR, the Heimlich maneuver and how to stop bleeding. And it was because of Aerts' class that Markiewicz knew what to do, she said. "Mrs. Aerts, she always taught us, if there was something there, and no one was running up, and if you knew how to do it, you should go run and do it," Markiewicz said. "… She really has a special place in my heart. Because of her, now I helped a life, and maybe I could help multiple more." 'Everything happens for a reason' In the months since the incident, Henderson said, he's seen a significant change in his life. For one, although he said he's "not super religious," he's started attending church more. Henderson said he takes care of his mother, who lost a lung during the pandemic. He said he's grateful to Markiewicz for saving him and allowing him to continue caring for his mom, adding that "everything happens for a reason." "It truly was a blessing that she was there to save me, because without her, I don't know where my family would be; I don't know what my mom would be doing," he said. "… My mom, she's like my rock. Everything I do, I do for her. … I was literally about to lose her." Markiewicz's school, New Prairie High, is also where senior Mark Mayfield collapsed in a school hallway and tragically died from a cardiac arrest in 2017. Mayfield's mother, Diane Mayfield, said from the perspective of a mother who has lost a son, it's vital that people know what to do in an emergency. "You don't understand until it happens to you, but it's devastating. So any chance our children have to survive something is just priceless," she said. "… Just being prepared — and, you know, hopefully you don't ever need it — but just one life saved, it means the world." And Markiewicz agreed, saying she's seen firsthand how learning life-saving techniques like CPR and the Heimlich can mean the difference between life and death. She said she believes everyone who can should earn their CPR certification, so they'll be prepared to respond like she did. "It makes me more grateful that I got CPR certified and stuff," she said. "It makes me grateful that I learned all this, and I took the time to do it." Markiewicz added that she wants to go into nursing as a career, giving her even more opportunities to help people. She said the incident has changed her perspective, as well. In the moment, Markiewicz said, she felt a mix of pride that she knew how to help Henderson and relieved that he was OK. And in the months since, knowing that she can respond in a crisis has given her a sense of empowerment and confidence that she'd be able to do it again, she said. "I've completed great accomplishments before, but nothing, like, ever this great before," Markiewicz said. "… I pass all my tests and everything, and that's a good accomplishment. But to step up this big, that's, like, something to be really, really proud of." Email South Bend Tribune staff reporter Rayleigh Deaton at rdeaton@
Newsweek
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
The Witcher 3 Dev Reveals the Game Originally Had a Bank Heist
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors The Witcher 3 is celebrating its tenth anniversary, and with it comes a host of interviews across a number of outlets with the game's development team at CD Projekt Red. Earlier in the week we learned some juicy details about how the game's most memorable sidequest was almost very different, and it turns out that wasn't the only one. According to CD Projekt Red quest designer Danisz Markiewicz, one fan favorite quest from the Hearts of Stone DLC, Open Sesame, originally started off as a bank heist, before the team decided it wanted to go even bigger. The result was the quest that we got in the final game, which had Geralt pulling together a team of roguish misfits to run a heist on an auction house. "We wanted to have something more interactive," Markiewicz told DBLTAP in an interview. "The whole section of Geralt taking part in an auction, getting to meet people from high society, actually buying stuff – that felt very compelling. A bank heist could have certain opportunities, but this was on a completely different level." A screenshot from the Open Sesame quest in The Witcher 3, showing Geralt and others planning a heist. A screenshot from the Open Sesame quest in The Witcher 3, showing Geralt and others planning a heist. CD Projekt CD Projekt put great care into making sure its characters were a good fit for the bombastic nature of the quest, which takes inspiration from films such as Point Break and Ocean's Eleven. But, because CD Projekt never makes anything easy for itself, designers decided to have multiple options for each role in the heist, which required a lot of careful planning and clever execution to make the whole thing work. "We didn't want to redo the entire scene," Markiewicz said. "So we developed some new tech to implement a scene so that those characters are technically there, but if they're not present, another character takes their place. You see that in several scenes – for example, when they're talking over the whole plan. If someone were to play this scene just as it is, you would get two characters talking over each other. Almost like Schrödinger's cat." The quest also originally had plans for a magical security system, with a magic portal whisking Geralt away and into a cave with a Golem. Instead, Markiewicz said, the team decided to keep the quest a little more grounded, eschewing magic altogether and having Geralt dropped through a trapdoor into a pit of spiders. All of this comes with the context that CD Projekt Red is currently hard at work developing The Witcher 4, which will be the first in a trilogy of games focused on Geralt's apprentice Ciri. The game is currently in development using Unreal Engine, a departure from the studio's usual in-house engine, but one that should allow developers to spend less time tinkering with its engine and more time crafting memorable quests.
Axios
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
D.C. dating is disrupted by DOGE cuts
The hunt for love in D.C. is more fraught than ever — and matchmakers and local singles say you can blame President Trump's second-term policies. The big picture: It's not news that dating has become highly partisan, especially in a town as politically obsessed as Washington. D.C. residents overwhelmingly vote Democratic, and Trump staffers and right-wing supporters have found it difficult to find a date among the city's more liberal permanent dwellers since the first administration. But lately: "It's just so polarizing," says DMV-based matchmaker Susan Trombetti. "It always has been, but it's on steroids now." Liberal, single Washingtonians are feeling increasingly averse to dating Trump supporters because the president's hits to the federal workforce and the city of D.C. feel so personal, say matchmakers. And there's a new description appearing on dating app bios, D.C. singles tell Axios: "Laid off by DOGE.'" What they're saying: "Things feel chaotic in their professional lives, and I think it's kind of rolling over into their personal lives as well," says Kat Markiewicz, a D.C.-based matchmaker at Three Day Rule Matchmaking. Half of Markiewicz's clients are people with government-connected jobs. Many tell her they'd never date someone from across the political aisle before she can even ask. And it's not just a vote for Trump that's a dealbreaker for these left-leaning D.C. singles. "Four years ago, five years ago, I was hearing, 'Oh, I couldn't date a Trump supporter,'" says Markiewicz. "Now it's like, 'I cannot date someone if they drive a Tesla.'" By the numbers: Before last summer, 45% of OkCupid users in D.C. said they wanted to match with a member of their political party, OkCupid tells Axios. That number jumped to 51% after Trump was elected in November, and spiked to 58% after Inauguration Day. Zoom in: Some dating app users are sharing in their profiles that they were laid off by DOGE and are now unemployed — and are therefore looking to go on no-cost or inexpensive dates, say D.C. singles. Shaw resident Samantha White tells Axios that she had a former federal worker cancel a date because they said they needed to save money. There's been an "ominous" air on some of her recent dates, says White. "Sometimes you spend 10 minutes joking about, like, 'Oh, I don't know if I'll have a job tomorrow.'" What we're hearing: In classic Washington fashion, some now-unemployed singles are even using dating apps as a networking tool. Shaw resident Peter Durkin says he's seen fellow app-users state in their bios that if a romantic connection doesn't pan out, they'd at least like to land potential job connections. Between the lines: More of Markiewicz's DMV clients are open to being connected with matches in other cities, she says, because they're not certain how long they'll be in D.C. due to the job climate. And some matchmaking clients backed out of signing contracts at the last minute because they said they needed to budget for fear of losing their jobs, the matchmakers tell Axios. The intrigue: Despite the tension, more Washingtonians are openly expressing their conservative views on dating apps, users tell Axios — a departure from Trump's first term, when some conservatives listed their political affiliation as "moderate" in their bios. White tells Axios she's seen several photos on dating app profiles of people posing with Trump or in his Oval Office. "It's interesting how the new administration has allowed people to feel more open about what they believe in this city," she says.
