CHAMPAIGN – For a moment, Jean Driscoll is on pause.

But it won't last.

The retired Paralympic medalist and champion marathoner – who now works in the University of Illinois College of Applied Health Science – raced back from Beijing this week after serving as a U.S. delegate to the Paralympic Games. On Sunday, she will zip over to Washington, D.C., where she has been invited to a White House state dinner on Monday with the president of Ghana – one of very few held by President George W. Bush during his tenure.

Since 2001, Driscoll has been working to help disabled athletes in Ghana, who had often been "considered cursed," she said, before some of them had the chance to go out and win international wheelchair events – a chance they still fight for. During her vetting process to be a U.S. delegate, Driscoll's work with those athletes led to her dinner invite.

"When I first started using my chair, I was angry about it," she said. But gradually, she felt that rather than limiting her abilities, the chair gave her freedom.

It certainly hasn't stopped her from seeing the world.

In Beijing, Driscoll went to the Great Wall, and got to watch a fellow delegate, newly disabled Lt. Colonel Gregory Gadson, walk some of his first stairs to see that wall. "It was really fun to see him feel a sense of accomplishment," she said. "I was teasing him a little bit about being a newbie – you know, a newly disabled person."

Watching Gadson see the athletes' skills and "see how able people were" was a point of joy for her.

She also got to see the world of sports from another side. Usually she has been the competitor, spending her time in the track and field facilities. But in Beijing, she sat in the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, watched rugby and swimming and other sports.

She saw UI athlete Amanda McGrory race to third in a track event that had a pile-up at what Driscoll estimated were racing speeds of 17 or 18 miles an hour. The event was disqualified and run again, and McGrory ended up with the gold.

Whenever Driscoll saw an athlete connected to the University of Illinois – and there were dozens at the Games – she let the other delegates know. They might have gotten tired of hearing UI this and UI that, Driscoll said. But no matter. "I got to talk about the history of the University of Illinois," she said, "its significance in the world of disabilities. It made me so proud."

In China, Driscoll said, the athletes were "somewhat objects of curiosity," and were swarmed by people seeking photos. Though she'd heard that some in China were calling it "the Games of the Sick," she said the Paralympics are anything but that.

"The bottom line is they're athletes. They're showcasing their abilities. If they were showcasing their disabilities, they wouldn't be there," she said.

Tim Nugent is the former UI director of rehabilitation and founder of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. On Friday, he said Driscoll will impress not only Bush, but "anyone else," at the state dinner. "She's just an outstanding person."

He said she has been instrumental both at the UI and internationally as a role model for disabled athletes, including those in Ghana. He said the attitude in Ghana toward the disabled had changed "immeasurably, just because of Jean's efforts."

On Monday, Driscoll said she would be one of only about 130 people to attend the dinner. She had a new dress made in China, and she's ready to meet the presidents – both U.S. and Ghanaian.

"To have been named to the presidential delegation was an incredible honor," she said. "I feel so blessed to have these opportunities."