"He would chew on his shirt, like an anxious habit," his mother, Candace Tidmore, says.

He was happy one minute, "fighting like a monster" the next, she says.

Dillon had one infection after another. Unexplained fevers often raised his temperature. His nose was constantly runny, and his face and arms were covered with a rash. He was always hungry and thirsty, and he'd sleep 12 to 14 hours a day and still need a nap.

We read about parents who throw away their kids and we're appalled by stories of children abandoned for days.

Mothers of these children might be no better than irresponsible alley cats, but Candace Tidmore is as protective as a lioness.

Candace and Kyle Tidmore have a strong Christian faith. God had a solution to Dillon's problems, Candace says. She just needed to connect with it.

That meant looking in any and every nook, following up on any lead and praying over everything they did. It meant trips to several doctors in the Albuquerque area, looking for a solution other than Ritalin, a drug often prescribed for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Dillon is now almost 6. He has a longer attention and doesn't bite his younger brother any more. He has more good days than bad and is happy most of the time.

Using faith first and going to other methods after that, the Tidmores refused to give up on their child. About two years ago, after viewing a video on ADHD that listed parents who agreed to be contacted by others who had children with similar problems, Candace did what she often did and does when concerned about her children: She prayed.

She then picked a name and made the call. She found a woman in Colorado Springs with four sons age 13 to 21. All had symptoms similar to Dillon's.

The woman told Candace she would give her the name of a doctor who could help, a doctor who would not send her down another rabbit hole.

"It turns out we prayed on the phone," Candace says. "She was really neat."

Candace immediately got in touch with Dr. Carol Ann Ryser's office and set up an appointment for Dillon.

Ryser ran tests, lots of tests.

She tested Dillon's immune system and looked for a source of infection.

The lab work alone was about $3,500, Candace says. None of it was covered by insurance.

But now that the Tidmores had a lead that could prove helpful, they were determined to leave no stone unturned. The financial cost was a non-issue when they compared it with the emotional cost of leaving Dillon like he was.

Ryser diagnosed HHV6, human herpesvirus-6. Ryser told the Tidmores that studies support evidence of a link between HHV6 and such medical problems as multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, Parkinson's disease, ADHD, autism and fibromyalgia.

"She (Ryser) has one foot solid in the traditional medical field and one foot solidly in the alternative medicine field," said Ryser's business manager and husband, Michael Ryser, in a telephone interview last week.

The doctor fits treatment to what the individual person needs, he said. She might use prescription drugs or natural substances or, as in Dillon's case, a combination.

Ryser prescribed heperin, which acts as an anti-inflammatory, getting rid of inflammation in the capillaries and allowing the blood to flow better. Dillon also takes some vitamin and mineral supplements.

Within the past month, Candace found Dr. Joseph Perea in Albuquerque, who is willing to follow Ryser's protocols to treat Dillon, so the family doesn't have to travel back and forth any more.

The Tidmores will never stop praying for the health of their son - and they won't soon cease thanking God for leading them to Ryser - and now Perea.

Jan Jonas can be reached at jjonas@abqtrib.com"> or 823-3627.