History of TCN

The Carousel Network, founded by Esther Alton in the early 1990's, was incorporated in 1995 as a California nonprofit and 501(c)3 nonprofit organization providing information and support to the general public and members in Sonoma County - and beyond. Along with Esther, Jerry Sunhal, and Melissa Kaplan have been our past presidents.

Our initial focus was on chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS; also called chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome, or CFIDS). When the local fibromyalgia support group's founder made her plans to move out of county, we agreed to add fibromyalgia (FM) to our scope of coverage. This wasn't much of a stretch since most people diagnosed with CFS also meet the clinical definition of fibromyalgia. In fact, when doctors who typically treat CFS patients review the patient records of those diagnosed with FM, they find that most of those patients also meet the clinical definition of having CFS. Hence you will often see the two disorders joined together (CFS/FM).

Most of us with CFS/FM sooner or later become highly sensitive to chemicals - perfumes, pesticides, soaps and detergents, plastics, vehicle exhaust, and more. Coping with the lifestyle changes is as difficult as dealing with the effects on our immune and endocrine systems, liver function, and brain function as acute and chronic exposures cause brain, gut and liver damage. And so, we again broadened our scope in the late 1990's to include multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS).

In 2002, a number of members who were originally diagnosed with CFS and FM 10-15 years ago, were found to have Lyme disease and other tickborne diseases. Since then, an increasing number of members have been diagnosed with Lyme (Borrelia) and commonly encountered co-infections, Bartonella, Babesia and Ehrlichia. As a result, Lyme and its co-infections have been included under the umbrella of diseases covered by TCN.

TCN MISSION STATEMENT
Adopted in 1999

The Carousel Network was founded by and for people who are suffering from neurological, endocrinological and immunological disorders known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS), fibromyalgia (FM), and multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), and related disorders. TCN provides information on current research into etiology, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as provides a forum for the discussion of and sharing about the coping skills required by those with chronic illness, the disabilities caused by these disorders, and educating the general public and health care community about these aspects of the disorders. Towards the fulfillment of the main goals of education, outreach and support, The Carousel Network is committed to:

• Provide a forum where healthy community members can come to learn about these disorders.
• Provide a safe place where people who have these disorders may come and share their feelings and fears.
• Provide educational outreach to patients, their families and caregivers, health care professionals and legal professional about the disorders and their impacts on body, brain and function.
• Provide educational outreach to patients, families and caregivers to help ensure patients have proper support for the physical and psychosocial problems these disorders cause.
• Provide resource information by the development of a referral network of health care professionals, legal advisors, social services agencies, and aids to daily living to assist people dealing with these disorders obtain the help and assistance they need.
• Provide assistance and information for community organizations and agencies that require or are interested in learning about these disorders.