Transverse Myelitis (TM) is an autoimmune disorder that targets the spinal cord. The symptoms from the inflammatory attack are devastating and debilitating. The attack occurs without warning. It is a rare disorder. No one has heard of the disorder until they or a loved one is diagnosed. It is difficult to diagnosis, and physicians do not understand much about it. A diagnosis of transverse myelitis is an isolating and frightening experience. The inflammatory attack can happen to children as young as four months old and to people into their seventies and eighties.  It happens to males and females. There doesn’t seem to be any concentration of the disorder among any group. It happens to people in every country in the world and its distribution seems to be random.  Pauline Siegel was diagnosed with transverse myelitis in July 1994.  Shortly thereafter, she and her husband, Sandy, helped to establish The Transverse Myelitis Association. Sandy has been involved in support, education, research and advocacy for twenty-five years as a volunteer. He is president of the TMA and serves on its board of directors. He has more than two decades of experience advocating for people with transverse myelitis (TM) and the other rare neuroimmune disorders: Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM), Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM), MOG Antibody-Associated Disease (MOG-Ab disease), Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD), and Optic Neuritis (ON). The Patient Experience with Transverse Myelitis: An Anthropological Perspective is a comprehensive description of what it means for a person to get this disorder. The diagnosis is going to be a life-altering event for an individual and it will be a transformative experience for everyone in the family. This book is not a medical analysis of treatments and procedures. As a cultural anthropologist, Sandy had the unique perspective as a participant and an observer of this patient community. He was Pauline’s caregiver and advocate. He also became an advocate for the more than 14,000 members of the Association from more than 100 countries around the world. Sandy shares these experiences from the acute onset, diagnosis and treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term symptom management. The Patient Experience also covers related issues, such as changes in family dynamics, disability identity, the ADA, accessibility and adaptive technology, the role of religion in coping with illness, service dogs, the health care system in the US, and the future of research. More than twenty contributors have written articles for the book. These are people with transverse myelitis or parents of children with TM, as well as some of the leading medical experts in the field. The Patient Experience with Transverse Myelitis chronicles a very personal journey of the people from a rare disease community.