While growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, she lived in a three-room apartment in the public housing projects with her younger and older half-brother.
She received little encouragement to follow her dreams of becoming a doctor because it would be a slim chance for her since her family would not be able to financially send and support her through medical school.
One of the main reasons that Gaston wanted to become a doctor was because her mother Dorothy Hughes suffered from Cervical cancer with no access to health insurance.
[6] While completing her internship at Philadelphia General Hospital she found her interest in studying more about sickle cell disease when a baby was admitted into the emergency room.
[3] While proceeding with her study she discovered a revolutionary medical procedure in 1986 that would change the lives of infants that suffer from this disease.