(One method) of recovering lost animation data on maya

I just experienced an incredibly scary hour of lost animation data. All my work on a referenced character was gone.
BUT!! Luckily, I wasn't the only person in the world that had that this happen to her. And with some desperate searching I was able to eventually recover the lost animation.

Just wanted to share the recovery process in case anyone else experiences it too.
(1) Download and install a plug-in called AnimDataRecovery (https://www.highend3d.com/maya/script/animation-data-recovery-mel-for-maya)
(2) Open the plug-in
(3) Select the ctrls/object you want to recover
(4) and hit the "Restore Animation" button

The animation data technically isn't gone. The connection between the animation node and controller object was just severed for one reason or another; and this script helps re-connect it.

One other things to note//
- don't delete the Namespace of your referenced file. It's another fabulous way to lose data /sever connections. Maya just resets the namespace back in when you close/re-open the scene file.
(... and please don't ask why I thought it was a good idea in the first place... just...just don't... too embarrassed right now...)

Alrighty! Knowledge is power! Hope it saves someone's headache, if they fall into this scary situation.