"A ball had passed between my body and the right arm which supported him, cutting through the sleeve and passing through his chest from shoulder to shoulder. There was no more to be done for him and I left him to his rest. I have never mended that hole in my sleeve"

Clara Barton's quote is a reflection on a moment of tragedy and sadness. It mentions a ball going through the body of a person she was supporting, cutting through her sleeve and going through his chest from shoulder to shoulder. This implies that the person was fatally wounded and there was nothing more that could be provided for him. The quote mentions the sorrow and helplessness that Clara Barton felt because moment, and how she was entrusted a physical pointer of the tragedy in the kind of a hole in her sleeve. It is a reminder of the fragility of life and the power of death. It is a reminder of the significance of cherishing every minute we have with those we love, and of the value of living life to the maximum.