The Carousel Network

Monthly Meetings

Meeting Dates

Meeting Times and Format

2:00-2:10 p.m. - Introduction / Announcements

2:10-3:30 p.m. - Information Program (speaker, video, or topical discussion)

3:30-4:00 p.m. - Speaker-Audience Q&A / Introductions / Networking

4:00-4:30 p.m. - TCN Library open / Continued large and small group discussion and networking

The meetings start promptly at 2:00 with the program portion of our meeting (speaker, video, etc.). The program portion of the meeting will generally last until 3:30, but may run longer depending on the needs of the speaker and the audience. After the program portion there will be time for questions, general discussion, and for members to use the TCN Library.

When we have a speaker, video, or panel discussion, please be courteous to those presenting and providing the program. Wait to ask questions if requested, and help make sure that everyone who has questions (or answers!) has a chance to speak.

Some support groups can be very depressing, a situation which tends to turn away those who are looking more for information, comfort and validation rather than a meeting that is emotionally and physically draining to all in attendance.

TCN, rather than having"support group" meetings where people exclusively talk about their illness and listen to others doing the same, TCN puts the emphasis on information through the use of speakers, videos and panel discussions. As the speaker-audience Q&A winds down, audience members can begin to talk with one another, meeting new people, sharing their stories, learning from on another.

Meeting Location

Palm Drive Hospital
501 Petaluma Avenue
Sebastopol CA 95472

Map and driving directions

Parking is available in the parking lot in front of the building. Once you park your car, you enter the building through the doors under the portico covering the circular drive off the main driveway. The conference room door is on your left, past the glass display cases, and right across the corridor from the hospital's Information Desk.

Accessibility Guidelines
We thank you for respecting the needs of our participants by helping make our meetings accessible to all.

Come fragrance free
Please respect others and refrain from wearing fragrances, fragranced hair and other products, and clothing scented by detergents, fabric softener, and dry cleaning chemicals. Remember that if you previously wore a garment while wearing perfume or other fragrances, chances are those around you who are hypersensitive to fragrances may still be affected by the lingering chemicals even if they are not detectable by you.

Please be very careful about what you are wearing: even very small residues of fragranced products clinging to your clothing or body can cause reactions ranging from loss of voice, respiratory impairment, nose bleeds and more to those who have MCS. Remember: even a small amount of fragrance is as much of a barrier to those with MCS as a few steps are to someone in a wheelchair. People who come to meetings with scents on them will be asked to leave the offending garments or materials in their car or, if that is not possible, to leave the meeting.

Newspapers should be left outside the door.

Snack considerately
If you bring snacks, please avoid strong smelling ones. Many of us suffer from distractibility and noise intolerance. If your snacks are packaged in cellophane, please transfer them into a low-noise container before you come.

Dress appropriately
Due to autonomic nervous system dysregulation, we all respond to ambient air temperature differently, with some people being cold in the same environment that others find comfortable and still others find unbearably warm. So, if you are usually cold or usually warm, please dress in layers that you can put on or take off as you need to be comfortable. Feel free to bring a blanket or a quiet personal fan if you need one.

Get comfortable
Most of us have chronic or acute pain, so feel free to bring a special chair or pillow, or get up and walk around or stand in the back or sides of the room. Everyone will understand.

Access our room
The meeting room is wheelchair accessible. By everyone striving to keep it fragrance free, we can help ensure that nearly everyone will be able to tolerate being in the room for a couple of hours.

Thank you for following these guidelines
All of the accessibility guidelines may sound ludicrous to anyone who is used to just strolling into any gathering without regard for any of the above. We all remember how that felt, and would love to have that freedom again. Unfortunately, our brain, autonomic nervous, endocrine and immune systems have sharply curtailed those carefree days.

TCN Library
The Carousel Network compiles a variety of information resources of interest to our members, including books, videos of meetings, collections, and newsletters. These materials are available to TCN members only.

The library is open for returns only prior to the meetings, and opens again from 4:00 to 4:30 for browsing and checking out library materials. Returning materials before the meeting ensures that all materials will be ready and available after the meeting, when the Library is open for browsing and check-outs from 4:00 to 4:30 PM, at the end of the formal meeting program. The Librarian is available to check materials out, and to check returning materials back in.

Materials may be checked out for one month, with the member checking the library item out with the Librarian at one meeting, and returning it to the Librarian at the next meeting. If you can't make the meeting, or otherwise need to contact the Librarian, please send your email to library@cndsinfo.net, or leave a message on our voicemail, 707.324-8881.

To become a member of The Carousel Network, you can join at the next meeting, or print out the membership form, and mail it, with your $20 payment, to: The Carousel Network, 122 Calistoga Road #216, Santa Rosa CA 95409-3702.

Go to:  Meeting Dates • Meeting Time & Format • Meeting Location • Room & Meeting Accessibility

Join TCN: You can join at a meeting, or fill out a membership form and mail it with your check for $20 to The Carousel Network, 122 Calistoga Road #216, Santa Rosa, CA 95409-3702. Members receive our bimonthly newsletter, email meeting reminders, and borrowing privileges from our TCN Library. TCN is supported solely by membership dues and donations. Memberships are due for renewal annually from the date joined. We thank you for renewing promptly.

Legal Disclaimer: The Carousel Network, Chronic Neuroimmune Diseases is an all-volunteer, 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We do not give medical advice, nor does TCN endorse products or treatments. Members of our group are being treated with mainstream and alternative therapies, often in combination. If you have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyaliga, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Lyme Disease, or any other medical condition, we encourage you to work with an informed health care practitioner as you make the choices and decisions about your own treatment. You are responsible for your own health care decisions.

©2004 The Carousel Network
Last Updated May 23, 2008

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