A COOL HEAD & A KIND HEART IN A CRISIS

Meet the courageous Cape Town nurse who used hugs and empathy to calm a gunman who'd allegedly shot dead three people

- LESEGO MKHIZE

Sister Diane Seale talks about what happened in room No 2 on the hospital's second floor.

SHE smiles warmly but ignores the hand we've stretched out in greeting. "Ag no, none of that nonsense," she says and throws her arms open for a hug.

This speaks volumes about the sort of person Sister Diane Seale is. Kindness and energy radiate from her, spreading down the corridors of New Somerset Hospital in Cape Town and wafting into the wards.

The 61-year-old senior nurse also has the ability to stay calm under pressure, which serves her well in her position as operational manager in the paediatric ward at New Somerset, South Africa's oldest hospital.

And all these qualities played a vital role in an extraordinary incident that saw her become an instant national hero. Diane, using her powers of empathy and her vast experience, subdued a gun-wielding patient who'd allegedly killed three men - Constable Donay Phillips and two male patients - in the hospital she's worked in for the past 43 years.

"It's almost becoming embarrassing, she says of the attention that's been showered on her.

Diane is quick to deflect praise away from herself.

"I couldn't have done it without my family," she says, referring to her colleagues.

Yet there's little doubt her gut instinct saved the day. Others may have panicked, but Diane did what she does best: used hugs and reassurance to prevent a deadly situation from becoming even worse.

DIANE was preparing for her 12-hour shift on a cool autumn Saturday evening earlier this month when the phone rang. It was a nurse in distress, telling her to come to the surgical ward on the second floor before abruptly ending the call. "Before she terminated the call, I could hear screaming in the background and I knew something was wrong.

Diane quickly made her way to the ward.