No back ups Jo ? I learned years ago to back up everything , I keep mine on 2x external HD's , do it about every 2-3 weeks .
There are places , one in Sydney ( cant remember the name ) that can extract files from a dead HD , its expensive and takes a long time and it can be done ,, but
.
Sorry for your bad luck it Sux for sure , been there done that many years ago ,, back-up , back-up , back-up .
Brian.