Woman Gets Text from Mom Asking Her to Research for Assisted Suicide

A woman is opening up about her difficult journey helping her mother end her life with medical aid in dying.

Shannon Bennett from Boulder, Colo., was in tears as she reflected on the heartbreaking text message she received from her mother, Gayle Hamer, at the end of February.

“She said, ‘Please don’t get angry or upset, but I am so tired of my life. Could you please look into assisted suicide for me,’ ” she recalled to 9News. “I just was, like, speechless.” 

Eight years ago, Hamer was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. She underwent surgery and chemotherapy. However, the disease left her extremely limited and with lingering symptoms like dizziness and loss of appetite. Over the last year, doctors later determined she was terminally ill.

“I can’t read, I can’t knit, I can’t do any of the things I liked doing before and I don’t see any reason to keep on going,” Hamer, 82, explained in an interview with the outlet before she died. “I do like food but I’m never hungry.”

“I had this huge dizzy spell which I think caused me a heart attack and the dizziness has never gone away. It’s always there and its been there since July,” she continued. “I just think everybody has the right to choose when their time is up and nobody should dictate that they should have to do it now or down the road a ways or wait until everything stops working.”

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Realizing how much of a toll cancer was taking, Hamer decided she wanted to choose medical aid in dying (MAID), which has been legal in Colorado since 2016 when the End-of-Life Options Act went into effect. 

The law allows patients with terminal illnesses to end their lives with lethal medication — without supervision of their medical team. It’s different from euthanasia because the patients themselves administer prescribed drugs to end their lives, rather than a doctor. Euthanasia is illegal in the United States.

In addition to Colorado, MAID laws have been authorized in California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Vermont, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey and New Mexico.

“I know I put my kids in sort of a tough spot by asking them, but I didn’t want them to be shocked,” Hamer told the outlet.

“I fully support her decision if this is what she wants to do,” her son Ty Hamer said in an emotional interview before her death. Bennett added, “I feel extremely lucky that this is an option for her because it’s just too miserable to go on for months or longer.”

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On March 20, 2025, Hamer took the lethal medication and ended her life as she children sat by her side.

“My children have been beyond the call, they are wonderful human beings,” she said prior to her death. “Their kids are wonderful human beings and I couldn’t be more grateful that they’re my children and grandchildren. I can’t tell you how much I love my family.”

Weeks after Hamer died, Bennett spoke to 9News again. Through tears, she explained that although she’s grieving the loss of her mother, she’s grateful that MAID was available to her.

“It’s spring,” she told the outlet, noting that it was her mom’s favorite season. “She and I would be playing golf together a couple times a week and it’s kind of odd. I’m not quite sure what to do with myself.”

But ultimately, she supports her mom’s final wish.

“I’m very proud of her,” Bennett said. “I just wanted people to be made aware that there is an option for people to have more control over their end-of-life journey.”