Hi Grifmat,
Yes, I think you're on the right track now. Of course, it would be better if your mom had a definite diagnosis. Has her doctor ordered a bone marrow biopsy? To the best of my understanding, this is how patients are diagnosed.
Never be afraid to ask questions as a good doctor will be able to answer you most of the time and will not disregard your concerns. Just recently when my son had to switch from Pedi Hematology to Adult Medicine, we too had to search for a good Hematologist. What we found out was that just because a doctor has a degree in Hematology does not make them qualified to treat bone marrow disorders. Both my son and I were very uncomfortable with his new Hematologist. She only has been practicing for about 7 years which in my opinion isn't enough. When I asked her how many AA patients she had dealt with/treated, her answer was vague to say the least. She repeatedly kept making mistakes on routine stuff like ordering blood products and premeds. This scared me because this is the minor stuff in the whole scenario. I shuttered to think how she would deal with the bigger stuff. So, we searched until I found a qualified Hematologist who specialized in Bone Marrow disease and has many years behind her. We like that she answers all of our questions and concerns in detail and whenever she's unsure of something she consults with various colleagues around the country. We work as a team...
So, I do hope your mom gets a diagnosis soon and that she may be on her way to recovering.
A couple of things I'd like to share with you is 1) Always go prepared with a list of all your questions and concerns so that you may maximize your "Time Slot" with the doctor. 2) A medical professional shared this advice with me sometime ago and it has worked wonders
He told me that whenever I had a concern about something and I felt like the Physician was ignoring me, to ask him/her to please document my concern for the record. This method really does help as the Dr. usually will address the concern right away!!! Who knew...