Many Scars

For almost a decade Deborah Sayer concealed a debilitating illness from co-workers, friends, and even her family. After experiencing multiple miscarriages, she reaches a breaking point and sets out on a journey to find a cure for the incurable. Many Scars is the story of Deborah’s journey and the surprising truths she reveals and faces along the way. Dynamic and compelling, with occasional comic relief, she persistently counters the accuracy of the questionable MS diagnosis, exploring causative factors, such as the dental industry’s repression of the dangers of mercury exposure in “silver fillings,” and its connection to chronic illness.

“Many Scars”, is the literal translation of the words “multiple sclerosis” and it describes what is happening to the body’s central nervous system. Regardless of the “multiple sclerosis” words or their translation, neither explain why any of it is happening and there is still no known root cause for MS.

This feature documentary takes unpredictable paths towards discovery. Crisscrossing the country, Deborah films her encounters with an eclectic group of people from experts, to activists, to medical hobbyists, as well as those ravaged by the physically disabling effects of illness. Facing her fears, and using her own case study as the entry in, it is initially Deborah’s crusade to cure herself that drives the film forward. But as she video chronicles her day-to-day attempts to find a cure, the story transcends her own situation to become a symbol to resist the status quo, for others to not give up.