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It wasn\u2019t long before Harry was stable enough to be transported from Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro to Monroe Carell Jr. Children\u2019s Hospital at Vanderbilt, where he would spend the next three weeks in the NICU. While there, Harry received physical therapy, occupational therapy, feeding and swallowing therapy, and sensory support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHarry and I experienced a nine-minute shoulder dystocia during his birth, resulting in significant traumatic injuries for both of us,\u201d Morgan recalled. \u201cHarry\u2019s left humerus was fractured. He sustained a brachial plexus injury affecting his right arm, and he suffered a traumatic brain injury involving his cerebellum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lapczynskis made the gut-wrenching decision for Jake to leave with their son, but it wasn\u2019t long before Morgan checked herself out of the hospital and followed them to Vanderbilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI went straight to Nashville to be by my baby\u2019s side. At that time, there were still so many unknowns, and doctors could not tell us whether Harry would survive the injuries he had sustained during birth,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cPostpartum is hard for every mother, but with Harry, that season looked very different than anything I had imagined. It constantly felt like we were taking three steps backward for every one step forward. As a mother, you spend your entire pregnancy nurturing and protecting your baby and dreaming of the moment you finally get to hold them in your arms. Instead, the experience I had waited and prayed for felt like it had been taken from me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Harry was in the NICU, his parents weren\u2019t allowed to hold or even touch Harry. \u201cI couldn\u2019t feed him, change his diaper, or comfort him the way a mother naturally longs to comfort her baby. At times, I could barely recognize him beneath the tubes, wraps, bruising, and swelling. I had just given birth to my son, yet I couldn\u2019t simply be his mama in the ways I had imagined for nine months. I stood beside him, prayed over him, and watched him fight. I learned that sometimes nurturing and protecting your child means loving them fiercely from the other side of a NICU bed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, Morgan is still watching 5-year-old Harry from a distance. But instead of him being across the delivery room or in the NICU, she watched as he rode his Tennessee walking horse (TWH), Queen, and won the Reserve World Grand Championship in the Lead Line Ponies class at the 2026 Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration (TWHNC). Harry\u2019s love of Tennessee walking horses had just begun the year before, during the TWHNC in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis time, something was different,\u201d Morgan recalled. \u201cHarrison became completely captivated by everything happening around him. From seats near the entrance gate, he watched every horse make its grand entrance into the arena. He listened closely to the announcer. He focused on the organ music, and he eagerly turned to the jumbotron to watch each replay. From that moment, he was hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2024, Harry was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, so when something grabs his attention \u2014 like the TWH breed \u2014 he grabs the reins with both hands and holds on tightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfter that night, Harry\u2019s love for the TWH only grew stronger. We took him to every horse show we could, and each time he watched with complete focus, taking in every sound, every movement, and every part of the experience,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cBeing from Shelbyville, TWHs are such a special part of our town\u2019s history. They\u2019re strong, hardworking, resilient, and absolutely beautiful. In many ways, those same words describe our boy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harrison began training with Jerry Williams from J&J Stables, and Amanda Manis led him as he competed during the 2026 TWHNC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So far, Harry has earned the titles of Reserve Champion in Cornersville, Tennessee; Champion at the Belfast Lions Club; Reserve Champion at the Money Tree Classic; and Champion at the Heart of a Champion competition at Cooper Steel Arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe horses have brought Harrison joy,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cBut for us, the greatest gift has been the transformation we have witnessed. His confidence has grown, and his communication skills have blossomed. His willingness to engage with others has improved beyond what we once imagined. Areas where he once struggled have steadily become stronger. While Harrison still works harder than many of his peers, most people never realize how much he has overcome already.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What does Harrison have to say about TWHs? \u201cThey\u2019re pretty. Let\u2019s ride!\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Morgan Lapczynski stifled a sob. The traumatic labor and delivery had left her newborn son, Harrison, lifeless. \u201cOh, God,\u201d a voice screamed inside Morgan\u2019s brain, \u201cHe isn\u2019t breathing.\u201d A nurse began CPR. \u201cBreathe, Harrison. Breathe,\u201d Morgan whispered as the terrible scene played out before her. It was as if she were on the outside looking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":26044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,75,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-shelbyville","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/11\/1-4-1024x683.jpg\")
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