Mom Hopes to Raise Awareness After Son's Glucagon Kit Confiscated at Lollapalooza Entrance

The teen's Glucagon kit, valued between $500-600, was confiscated on the festival's opening day

The mother of a 17-year-old suburban boy with diabetes is grateful her son is okay after his emergency Glucagon kit was confiscated at the entrance to Lollapalooza on Thursday afternoon.

According to Algonquin resident Cynthia Kanner, her son Dylan was attending the concert event on Thursday when security guards at the entrance to Grant Park confiscated his Glucagon kit. The kit is designed for diabetes patients to use in the event that their blood sugar drops too low, and although he’s never had to use it in the two years since he was diagnosed, his mother was still horrified that it was taken away from him.

“I was horrified because it just adds an extra thing (to a life-threatening condition),” she said. “I got a text from him that they took his emergency glucagon. I felt out of sorts. It’s like an inhaler or an epi-pen. I was shocked and horrified that it happened.

Sky 5 footage shows crowds entering the gates at Lollapalooza for the first day of the popular music fest. 

According to Kanner, the kit costs between $500 and $600, and is not covered by insurance.

Fortunately for Kanner and her son, Lollapalooza officials worked quickly to resolve the issue. According to Cynthia Kanner, Festival Director Tim Smith told her that they would reimburse the family for the cost of the kit, and spent several minutes on the phone talking with her and apologizing for the incident.

“He was absolutely delightful,” she said. “I cannot believe I got a call from the director of the festival. We spent quite a bit of time on the phone, and he was super genuine. I just sent an email about what happened and he called me. I was astounded.”

In a statement, festival organizers said that medical personnel are stationed throughout the complex, and are positioned at each entry gate to answer questions about medical items during the screening process.

 “Lollapalooza medical personnel are stationed at each entry gate to assist and answer questions on medical items during the security screening process. They are part of a highly skilled Lollapalooza medical team onsite, including physicians, nurses, and EMTs who are at the ready to provide care for any medical emergency,” the statement read.

After her son’s situation was resolved, Kanner is hopeful that the family’s experience will help security personnel to keep in mind the value of medically-necessary drugs and devices when allowing admittance to the festival grounds.

“They did have medical lanes set up, (but) someone did not pick up the training note,” she said. “They should be able to go through any entrance safely without this happening to them.”

Contact Us