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For Kim Pham’s hospital team, tender care and a hard goodbye

Intensive care nurse Michelle Bruns, left, social worker Melissa Ramirez, nurse Amy Aguilar and Dr. Shahid Hayat took care of beating victim Kim Pham before she was taken off life support in this ICU room at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange.

Intensive care nurse Michelle Bruns, left, social worker Melissa Ramirez, nurse Amy Aguilar and Dr. Shahid Hayat took care of beating victim Kim Pham before she was taken off life support in this ICU room at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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The doctors and nurses at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange all wanted to tend to the broken yet beautiful 23-year-old who never opened her eyes or uttered a word. They all became part of a long farewell that none of them will forget. Read the story

Tender care and a hard goodbye

Security guard Kevin Jimenez, left, nurse Soudi Bogert, nurse Janet Russell and Linda Wilson were greatly affected by helping beating victim Kim Pham and her family. The staff worked intensely to balance cultural and legal demands, especially in the harvesting of her organs.  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Tender care and a hard goodbye

Even when details of the brawl outside a downtown Santa Ana nightclub came spilling out, staffers tried to ignore what was going on outside. “No one knew why she was here and that was fine,” said Soudi Bogert, a veteran ICU nurse. “We had our job to do.”  (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Tender care and a hard goodbye

Nga Doan, right, of Fountain Valley and her 21-month-old son, Frederik Doan, say goodbye to their niece and cousin, Kim Pham, 23, at a memorial outside The Crosby nightclub in downtown Santa Ana.   (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Tender care and a hard goodbye

Friends and family left a large memorial for Kim Pham.   (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Tender care and a hard goodbye

Dung Pham, the father of Kim Pham. “I saw his expression -- shattered,” said ICU nurse Soudi Bogert. “He thought he wouldn’t have a chance to say goodbye.” Bogert opened the doors and walked Dung Pham to the gurney, a final moment between father and daughter.  (Zung Do / For The Times)

Tender care and a hard goodbye

A portrait of Pham is displayed at a memorial Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church in Westminster. Soon after, the family took the urn with Kim’s remains and placed it next to her mother’s urn at Melrose Abbey in Anaheim.   (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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