Chinese comedy-drama "Dying to Survive" tells the story of an ordinary person who smuggles inexpensive generic drugs from India for thousands of Chinese leukemia patients who cannot afford the sky-high legitimate drugs. 

Based on a real-life story, the 2018 film touched the hearts of hundreds of thousands of moviegoers and grossed over 450 million U.S. dollars domestically, becoming the year's third highest-grossing film at the Chinese box office at the time. It was also nominated for numerous international film awards.

During the coronavirus outbreak, scenarios from the film were played out in Wuhan.

On January 23, an unprecedented lockdown was imposed in Wuhan, and several local hospitals were converted into COVID-19 designated hospitals. On February 11, the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention ordered all residential areas to restrict the movement of people who live there. The move limited access to necessities such as medicine, which could only be accessed through online procurement or distribution by shopping malls and supermarkets. With more than 400,000 people with severe chronic diseases in Wuhan, access to life-saving medicine became a serious problem.

On February 23, Wuhan recruited volunteers to provide food and purchase medication for residents in closed communities throughout the city. The number of online registrations for the service exceeded 10,000 that day. Ye Jiusi was one of the volunteers who answered to city's call.

"I saw that many patients posted online asking 'What should I do if I have no medicine?' At that time, I knew I should come out and do something," said Ye.

Having once worked in the healthcare industry and living with a severe chronic illness himself, Ye was keenly aware of the anxiety and helplessness people living with chronic illnesses felt under such circumstances. But his wife was afraid that he would contract the novel coronavirus, so she only allowed him to go to the pharmacies to buy medicine rather than entering hospitals. Nevertheless, when Ye heard of a cancer patient who had been unable to get medicine for a week, he still risked going to the hospital to get medicine for that person.

In the beginning, there were only two severe chronic disease pharmacies in Wuhan. It was Ye's daily routine to start queuing at 2:30 p.m. He would receive the medicine at 10 p.m. or even later. After delivering the medication, he went home and lay in bed, exhausted. To avoid a flare-up of his illness due to overwork, Ye had to increase the dosage of his medicine.

Because some medicines were scarce and difficult to buy, Ye rode more than 20 kilometers a day on average. Only half a month after he became a volunteer, his bike broke, and he had to borrow his daughter's bike.

At the end of February, the severe chronic disease pharmacies in Wuhan reopened, and the number increased to 50. In early March, some hospitals in Wuhan gradually resumed general outpatient clinics. But Ye continues to give of his time and energy.

"As long as there is another patient in need, I will continue to do so," he said.

Ye is an ordinary person but has become a real hero for hundreds of patients through his selflessness and bravery, just like the protagonist said in the movie.