Eugenie "Genie" Hegstrom is an author. She writes science fiction and "non-fiction the European histories..." As she stated, "History is one of my great passions." She was also a winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards. She was in need of a heart transplant. Wally West transported the heart across the nation from St. Mary's Children's Hospital in Manhattan, New York to Seattle, Washington in under five hours. Miss Hedstrom's heart transplant was performed by Dr. Peterson. Wally West had a copy of her book The Rise of Western Civilization to read on his flight back to New York City. Wally read all her books while he was in college.