Vera is a emergency room nurse in a metropolitan hospital. Her daily routine is somebody else’s emergency. By force of habit, Vera is one cool lady — hard to shake up.

But Delancy comes close to shaking up Vera one rainy night in September. The nurse finishes a 12-hour shift in the ER and gets home a little after midnight. She runs from her car holding her umbrella. Did I forget to mention, Vera is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 260 pounds. She’d be the first to admit she’s a rather large lady.

Anyway, Vera lives on the ground floor of a suburban condominium. She’s somewhat startled to find her front door slightly ajar.

As the nurse closes her umbrella, she slowly tip-toes inside, not really knowing what to expect. Out of a dark corner steps Delancy, a 59-year-old guy who’s made a career out of stealing other people’s possessions. He’s armed with a hammer which he swings wildly in the direction of Vera’s head.

Vera’s only advantage is that she’s two inches taller than the bandit, and she outweighs him by roughly 80 pounds.

There’s a brief struggle as the hammer-wielding burglar tries repeatedly to cold-cock Vera. But remember, she’s an ER nurse, and is at her best in emergencies. No doubt about it, this is an emergency!

In an effort to disarm the bandit and save her own life, Vera wraps her hands around the guy’s neck. The burglar struggles briefly, but soon falls limp.

Outside Vera’s condo several neighbors have gathered. They were awakened by the violent encounter. 911 has already been called and the cops are on the way.

Bottom line — paramedics say the guy is rapidly assuming room temperature — he’s dead. The coroner says he died by strangulation. Nurse Vera defended herself with the only weapon she had, her two hands.

The cops, the coroner, and the prosecutor all agree: Vera used deadly force to defend her own life.