By day, the Suns AFLW star works as an obstetrician-gynaecologist at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital, delivering babies and coaxing parents through the delicate challenges of childbirth.

But pregnancies don’t dissipate in the event of a global pandemic.

The second the siren sounded and the future of the Suns’ historic AFLW final campaign was sealed with a loss to Fremantle, Ernst was forced to abandon footy’s emotional rollercoaster.

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While her teammates stayed on an additional night in Perth, the 32-year-old was on the first flight back to Queensland to join her colleagues on Australia’s COVID-19 frontline.

What followed was one of the most challenging months of her career, dealing daily with suspected or confirmed virus victims who were also either pregnant or in labour.

“I accepted that I probably was going to get it,” Ernst said.

“Knowing that I was fit and healthy, I was relatively confident that I would get through it but there was still that unknown about how sick you’d actually get.

“I was confident in the education I’d received to know how to look after myself, having told people daily how to care for themselves if they were infected.

“I came to the conclusion that this was my role and I had signed up to be a doctor and that’s just part of the job and my responsibilities.”

Even in conversation, the realities of the ever-bustling hospital backdrop fail to recede.

“Sorry one second,” Ernst said, lowering her mobile phone out of earshot.

A flurry of medical jargon follows before the premiership-winning Bulldog’s voice picks up on the other end of the line.

“I’m in between operating lists at the moment,” she said.

“One of my patients is unexpectedly pregnant so we have to cancel her operation.”

Having spent her entire career caring to others, there’s one day among 365 which she dedicates to her own mental wellbeing.

It’s why on Friday June 5, Ernst joined doctors around Australia and the world in a global ‘crazy sock’ donning campaign aimed at encouraging conversations between doctors to combat issues of stress, burnout and depression - ever pertinent in the face of a pandemic.

Doctors are told to be resilient and make sacrifices but nowhere in textbooks does it read that one in four of their colleagues will have had thoughts of suicide and one in five will be diagnosed or treated for depression.

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“The day has become an international recognition of the challenges that the health system and doctors have to face every day,” Ernst said.

“I received word from the hospital the other day that a previous colleague of mine in Townsville had committed suicide so it’s really concerning that we are pushing doctors to the point where they don’t think life is worth living.

“It was started by a cardiologist down in Victoria who I knew through dealing with some of the doctors in Melbourne who battled with his own mental health and then realised that he wasn’t alone in dealing with these issues.

“It’s something I’m pretty passionate about but it’s so important we increase awareness and recognition because we’re not just superheroes saving lives, we need to look after ourselves as well.”

It’s why she ordered a pair of Bubble O’Bill socks, which unfortunately didn’t arrive in time, but were aptly replaced by a mismatched pairing of rubber duckie and croissant smothered socks.

And it’s why, just like on the footy field, she rolled them up as high as they would reach to highlight the challenges her profession presents.

LINE BALL CALL

IT was what Australia had long feared, but never realistically thought would transpire.

In early March, our sunburnt earth became swept up in the pandemic which had so far ravaged our neighbours and allies.

On the eve of the Suns Round 6 clash against the West Coast Eagles in Perth, the AFLW was suddenly stripped of atmosphere and life.

The government banned gatherings of more than 500 people and so the league barred fans from attending matches to contain the spread.

The Suns prevailed by 25 points and returned to Queensland to spend the following week doused by uncertainty.

Ernst, as a medical professional, was one of the many players consulted by the AFL Players Association about the fate of the 2020 season.

Four options were tabled – keeping playing as planned, go straight to finals, go straight to a grand final or abandon the season entirely.

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“The player in me wanted to keep playing but the doctor understood we were about to get hit with significant demands and strain on the health system and I was concerned we weren’t going to get through the whole finals series,” Ernst said.

The league decided to head straight to finals and qualified the remaining eight teams who were a mathematical chance of featuring at the pointy end.

For Ernst and the Suns, that meant a daunting semi-final date with the Fremantle Dockers in Perth.

“It was a really challenging decision (to get back on the plane) and I felt torn between my responsibilities at work and also to be prepared physically and mentally for game,” Ernst said.

“In retrospective, we were trying to get it done when we probably knew deep down it was never going to get done.”

Irrespective of the rejigged finals format, the Suns couldn’t match it with the Dockers and returned to Queensland without a 2020 AFLW future.

But instead of grieving what could have been, Ernst had no choice but to hit the ground running.

“I jumped back on an earlier flight with our team doctor while the girls stayed a day later because I had to get back to the front line to cope with the expected influx of cases to hospital,” she said.

“I had to switch straight into doctor mode.

“The normal emotional rollercoaster you feel after losing a final and going so far as a team, I didn’t really get the chance to feel that.”

THE FRONT LINE

THE process of donning personal protective gear isn’t dissimilar to a carefully cultivated, and systematically executed pre-match routine.

A base layer of scrubs is following by a specially designed face mask to protect against contagious diseases, followed by a shield, and glasses, and headwear and gloves and everything has to be put on and taken off in a certain order as not to contaminate yourself.

Unlike the rest of us who could control our actions and movements to consciously protect ourselves, Ernst walked into work each day knowing the virus was ravaging the immune systems of her patients.

“We were in a pretty unique situation I guess,” she said.

“We couldn’t stop our operations, we couldn’t stop labour or pregnancy during a pandemic so we had to figure out quickly how to manage that.”

Ernst’s role saw her directly caring for positive or suspected COVID-19 patients who were either pregnant or in labour.

And the fear that she would herself contract the virus quickly transpired into dread that she was infecting loved ones without even knowing it.

“It was head down, bum up at work and then I went home and that was basically it and I would quarantine,” Ernst said.

“I didn’t go to the supermarket, I did a lot of my shopping online.

“I would walk through the door at walk after a pretty busy day at work and basically strip off and run to have a hot shower which we were told to do to minimise the risk of contamination at home.

“You just wanted to keep your family safe.”

PREPARING FOR 2021

MORE than two months have passed since the AFLW season came to an abrupt halt and in that time, Australia has successfully flattened the COVID-19 curve.

Ernst still attends to an occasional case of the deadly virus but by and large, things are getting back to normal.

With community sport still on hold for the foreseeable future, the Bond University QAFLW star has taken the time to let her body and mind heal.

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Bike rides around the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, swimming and general off-season maintenance all fit the bill as the 32-year-old prepares to return for her fifth AFLW campaign in 2021.

“I know what my body needs and I’ve been trying to stay fit,” Ernst said.

“Once we’ve got a bit more structure, we can begin to establish a training program but I’m really just in maintenance mode trying to enjoy the time that I do have off.

“If anything this pandemic has taught me you have to take it each day and each week as it comes.”

While the Suns’ playing group is yet to gather in its entirety since their finals exit in March, they have still managed to celebrate the conclusion of their historic first season.

In May the club hosted their inaugural AFLW Club Champion awards night, albeit over video conference due to social distancing restrictions.

Ernst was named the club’s ‘Most Professional,’ a fitting reward for a season that saw her manage a move to Queensland, a move into the midfield, a role in the leadership group, all while working in Brisbane and commuting to the Gold Coast several nights a week.

“I didn’t anticipate any recognition but it was nice to get that just because I worked so hard trying to balance my professional demands with footy,” she said.

“You’ll never forget having an awards ceremony over Zoom was a bit surreal and a bit unique.

“The most bizarre bit was you could see everyone clapping and celebrating those who won awards but you couldn’t hear anything because everyone was on mute.”