Ducky--I am so sorry!!!! I know that horrible sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realize what has happened. :shock: My son in law WAS able to retrieve everything off of my daughter's computer when the same thing happened to her so I will keep my fingers crossed for you that your husband will be able to find yours too.
How about investing in an external hard drive for photo storage in the future? They are not that expensive and can be a life saver. Is this suggestion the same as "closing the barn door after the horse is out?"