RAPID CITY - When Patti "P.J." Bahr was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1995, she feared a future of sickness and confinement.

Now, she sees things differently.

"People think I'm crazy when I say this, but MS has been such a blessing in my life," Bahr said. "You look at every single day as a gift from God."

Despite ongoing fatigue and other side effects, Bahr still exercises, leads regular Bible studies, and last summer completed a 14-mile kayak trip and 10-mile hike in two days.

Up until July, she worked full time as a dispatcher with Pennington County 911 Center. Fellow dispatcher Suzanne Comrie nominated Bahr for the Achiever of the Year Award given by the North Central States Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The chapter includes South Dakota, North Dakota and Iowa.

Bahr won the award, which is given to people with MS who are determined to keep their lives moving forward despite the challenges associated with the disease.

"She continues to overcome adversity and setbacks with an attitude that makes me proud to call her my friend," Comrie said in a news release. "The world would be a better place with more P.J.s in it."

Bahr credits her faith in God, along with the support of her husband, Don, their blended family of five children and 11 grandchildren, and her co-workers with keeping her strong. "I couldn't do it without him," she said about her husband. "He's just amazing."

Bahr's own attitude helps, too. "I am a die-hard optimist," she said. "I am always, always, always positive."

Bahr first noticed something was wrong when she began bumping into friends while walking. When her hands and feet began to tingle, she went to see a neurologist. Then, she tried to run across the street - and couldn't.

"It was the weirdest sensation," she said. "My head knew I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn't do it."

A spinal tap confirmed that she had MS, an autoimmune disease that interrupts the flow of information between the brain and the body. Bahr described it as the body "looking for something to attack," which results in destruction of the central nervous system. Doctors aren't sure what causes it.

MS is always active, Bahr said, but a combination of intramuscular injections and medication slows its progression. Since her diagnosis, she has had four significant "relapses." When that happens, symptoms worsen. She might find, again, that she's unable to walk or that her hands are tingling.

Time, faith and more education have helped the Bahrs learn to live with MS the disease. So has the support of the Pennington County Sheriff's Office and Rapid City Police Department, which has allowed her to work only one or two days a week because of chronic fatigue.

"My employers have bent over backwards to accommodate my physical needs," Bahr said recently. "By the grace of God, I'm doing great."

So great, in fact, that Bahr bought a Harley-Davidson motorcycle a few years ago.

"That was kind of my statement," she said. "I have MS, but it doesn't have me."

For more information about MS, go to www.nationalmssociety.org.

Contact Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com