Lost my thesis written in Microsoft Word 2007

My apologies if this topic already exists, but I’m in a total panic right now and desperately need some help.

So, here’s the situation: I finished my senior thesis and saved it. A few days later, I realized all the charts I had pasted in from Excel were just... gone. I assumed it was because I hadn't kept the original Excel file handy, so I did what any sane person would do—I fixed the damage, rewrote the entire thing, and sat down tonight to polish a few final details before sending it off to my professor. But when I opened the document, it looks exactly like it did the first time the charts disappeared. I am 100% certain I saved everything properly because I opened and closed the file several times that day.
Is there any way on earth to recover what I wrote? If not, please tell me where I went wrong, because I absolutely cannot let this happen again!

I'm running Windows 8 and Microsoft Office 2007.

So, walk me through how you were dropping those Excel charts into Microsoft Word. When you dive into that paste special menu in Microsoft Word, there’s a whole bunch of different ways to play it—if you just paste it as a chart object or a Picture, the graph stays glued to the document forever. But, if you go the route of pasting a chart link instead? Well, then the chart just vanishes into thin air if that Excel file gets moved or goes missing from where the link thinks it should be. It's a total headache. And honestly, if you're emailing a Microsoft Word document to someone using that last method, you better make sure you attach the Excel file too, otherwise the link is basically dead on arrival.

I was basically just doing a lazy copy-paste job with my charts. Now I’m realizing I totally botched the execution. And honestly, I still can't wrap my head around how the text just vanished into thin air mid-process... what even happened there? Anyway, what’s the actual best way to move stuff from Excel over to Microsoft Word without being tethered to the original Excel file forever? I just want the chart itself sitting pretty in Microsoft Word. Thanks for any help. 🙂

Once you’ve copied it, just head into Microsoft Word 2007 and go with Paste Special—pick the Picture (Enhanced Metafile) option. It keeps your file size down, plus you can resize, move, or rotate the image without everything falling apart. Anyway, what text actually vanished? Please tell me you didn't accidentally overwrite the wrong document when you were saving...

I just lost the entire block of text I was typing while trying to explain these charts. I was using Microsoft Word, just typing away normally. I’m pretty sure I hit save properly, but... nothing. It's gone. And get this—I actually copied it over to a thumb drive just to be safe, but when I plug the stick in, the exact same thing happens. It's like it vanished into thin air. Absolute madness. Thanks for the help.