ATHENS, Ala. – Rene Hoover had no idea her request to allow her autistic son with a fatal heart disease to attend high school classes for social stimulation would evoke a backlash of cruel comments on the Internet.

Hoover said once the story went viral earlier this month, statements on social media and news sites make it seem as though she is asking the school system in this small North Alabama town to participate in assisted suicide of her 14-year-old son.

“It spread like wildfire,” said Hoover.

She said the unfeeling comments result from her drawing up a legal document, known as an advance directive, that ensures her son is not revived if he goes into cardiac arrest.

Limestone County School Board officials said they cannot honor the directive because state law in Alabama on do-not-resuscitate orders apply only to people 19 and older. They said school officials would be required to treat his condition as a medical emergency and strive to keep him alive.

Her son Alex has aortic mitral valve stenosis, a disease that causes the heart’s mitral valve to narrow and restrict blood flow. Numerous medical procedure over the years have failed to correct the problem, which Hoover says some day  will cause her son’s death because his heart gets weaker as he grows physically.

Alex attended school until he was hospitalized three times over the summer. His mother drew up the do-not-resuscitate directive at that time and he hasn’t returned to classes since.

Hoover said she did so because her son understands his heart disease is terminal and that successful resuscitation and surgeries will not correct his condition.

She said she does not want her son’s last days spent in a hospital, enduring more painful medical surgeries that doctors tell her may briefly extend his life but not improve his prognosis.

Hoover said she wants her son to attend school when he feels up to it so he can socialize with his classmates and lead as normal a life as possible while still alive. She has asked the state Legislature to make an exception to the law that restricts school officials from adhering to the do-not-resuscitate directive due to her son’s age.

People who don’t know anything about her situation and read about it on the Internet have accused her of asking school officials to participate in euthanasia. She called the comparison “apples and oranges.”

“I’m not signing a piece of paper to just let it happen,” said Hoover. “It’s not like I’m just signing him off. People have been very cruel with their comments.”

Hoover urged her critics to “see the big picture” about giving her son quality of life for the time he has left. She said she hopes every day he lives on but knows that it is medically impossible for him to do so for too much longer.

Right now, she added, they are preparing to celebrate the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

“Every day we have together is a good day,” said Hoover.

Details for this story were provided by the Athens, Ala., News Courier.