I'm sorry Tara

I've been there. My external died and I took it into Best Buy's Geek Squad. They couldn't fix it so they quoted me about $1500 to have it sent to a "clean room" and rebuilt. Since it had all my pictures on it I had to do it. My husband lost all his childhood photos in a fire so he was insistant that our kids had their pics. It made us sick financially, but I know those pictures and memories are priceless. So, don't give up hope, perhaps you'll be able to get the files off!
Then once you do that, I'd recommend Mozy or a good backup. ((hugs))