"I'm not sitting around," says 58-year-old Margaret Peterson, a longtime West Valley City councilwoman. "I don't like to knit."

She does like to ride her 80cc dirt bike along the trails near East Canyon Reservoir. She does like to kayak and go boating at Flaming Gorge Reservoir. And she loves to travel, taking in 18 countries and 46 states.

"My favorites are Turkey and Egypt for history; New Zealand for its breathtaking beauty; Italy for nice warm fuzzies; and Australia for snorkeling," Peterson says.

What makes Peterson's zest for adventure so remarkable is the fact that for seven years she was in a wheelchair.

In 1976, doctors diagnosed multiple sclerosis in Peterson, then a mother of three young children.

"I can trace the symptoms back to right after high school graduation," she recalls. "I would fall over for no reason."

Years before, while attending the University of Utah, Peterson pursued a minor in dance. But she shelved that dream when she "lost the ability to turn."

Later, when her youngest child was 18 months old, Peterson suffered a water-skiing accident. Her injuries, combined with her worsening MS, landed her in and out of hospitals for the next year.

"Falling on that water ski changed my life," she says. "I had to become a new person."

Peterson and her husband had enjoyed their outdoor activities together. All that activity - and her marriage - came to an end.

"I'd been athletic - that was our joy of being together," Peterson says. "It destroyed our marriage and was devastating for our children."

Her youngest child, Christopher, remembers his mother enduring sometimes-tremendous pain and being able to walk only a few feet.

At her lowest point, Peterson remembers deciding to "never get out of bed."

"That lasted about five hours," she says.

So Peterson pressed on, sometimes juggling two jobs and rearing three children.

Then, in the mid-1980s, a doctor at the University of Utah prescribed an experimental medication that helped her rebuild her muscles.

"It was exhilarating to realize I could start getting out of the chair," Peterson says.

Still, the journey back took time.

"I walked with a cane for a couple of years, and did figure eights on a bike in a church parking lot to gain balance," Peterson says. "And my children prayed for me every day."

Finally, the time came when she left her wheelchair for good.

"It felt like a miracle," recalls Edward Peterson, now a 32-year-old eye surgeon in Chattanooga, Tenn. "It was remarkable."

"She . . . got a new lease on life," says Peterson's youngest child, Christopher, now a 30-year-old law teacher at the University of Florida. "She's the toughest person I have ever met."

But those physical struggles tempered that toughness, says Christopher, and instilled in his mother a desire to keep "pulling for the underdog."

Peterson's reawakening eventually led her to public service.

"While I was chairing the Planning Commission, the City Council approved an asphalt plant at a major entrance to the city," she remembers. "I said I could make better decisions than that, so I ran and won."

That was 1989. Since then, she has run and won four additional times.

As a council member, Peterson has worked to improve the quality of housing in Utah's second most-populous city. She initiated after-school programs at six locations, raising $275,000 in grants and donations to fund them. She also sits on the board of the National League of Cities, serves as vice chairwoman of the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District and works as executive director of Youth Providers Association, a nonprofit consortium serving at-risk kids.

"I like her ability to focus on youth, to understand finances, her sense of humor, her devotion to education and her pride in her kids," says council colleague Barbara Thomas. "She doesn't sit back and say, 'Woe is me.' She certainly could have."

Mayor Dennis Nordfelt praises Peterson for her years of labor - much of it behind the scenes.

"I doubt if there's a more experienced, capable elected offi- cial in the state," Nordfelt says. "She's paid her dues and has learned what it takes to serve this community, something she does without hesitation."

Peterson's council term expires at the end of 2007, and at this point she's unsure whether she will seek another. Whatever she decides, don't expect her to sit still - not when there are trails to explore, rivers to run, countries to visit and grandkids to cuddle.

"She's adventurous and always has been," says Christopher Peterson. "That's probably the way we all should live our lives."

His mother wouldn't have it any other way.

"I have a different love for life," she says. "I've been to hell and back."

cmckitrick@sltrib.com

About MS

About 400,000 Americans have multiple sclerosis and experience a range of symptoms, including blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination and extreme fatigue.

In some cases, the chronic disease can cause paralysis and living productively becomes a challenge.

MS destroys myelin, the protective insulation around nerve fibers of the central nervous system. The myelin is replaced by scars of hardened "sclerotic" tissue.

Although there is no cure, government-approved medications can ease or slow the course of the disease.

About 85 percent of MS patients experience flare-ups followed by periods of remission.

Source: National Multiple Sclerosis Society

Margaret K. Peterson, 58

l On West Valley City Council since 1990.

l Highland High graduate, 1965.

l Bachelor's degree in biology and secondary education, 1972.

l Master's degree in business administration, 1994.

l Two sons, one daughter, seven grandchildren.

l Served on the Salt Lake Organizing Committee board of trustees.

l Current vice chairwoman, Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District.

l Serves on Utah League of Cities and Towns board of directors.

l Heads the National League of Cities' Finance, Administrative & Intergovernmental Relations Policy Committee.