You don't say what email program you are using, whether it is an Outlook type application on your PC, or an online service like Gmail or Hotmail.
There's usually a "Deleted Items" folder, or similar where you can find stuff. If you find the emails you need in deleted items, just copy them to your inbox.
If you are running Outlook, this may be of help: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/246153
With regard to your chum, it's unlikely that she will be able to get any satisfaction out of Microsoft.
Start again with a Gmail account and USE A PROPERLY SECURE PASSWORD.
Do NOT use a dictionary word. There are online resources that can crack an encrypted password if it's a "normal" word.
http://tools.benramsey.com/md5/
DO use a mixture of uppercase, and lower case letters plus numbers.
Do NOT use the same password for everything.
DO change your password regularly.
DON'T allow windows to remember form data and passwords. They're easy to recover.
http://www.gtopala.com/ download and run SIW. Check out the "Passwords" item. Scary.
Allan
April 2010