Desperate for Help - Accidentally Deleted Folder

Hi - I'm not exactly sure how this mailing list works or how to reply if someone answers, but I'm hoping someone can help, as I really need it. 
I've been using DigiKam for six months now as a replacement for the photo recognition software Picasa which doesn't work on my new Mac. I was working on organizing all my scanned photos from before 2000, I fixed the years, recognized faces, red eye, cropping, etc. It took me absolutely forever to do this for around 5,000 photos. 
A few months later, I need space on one of my external hard drives and since I have the photos backed up in other places, I deleted the folder with all my pictures before 2000. I completely forgot that that folder was the one connected to Digikam. I still have the pictures saved elsewhere on other drives and I can see the folder and photo thumbnails is still in Digikam (with an X before the folder name), but I'm not sure what to do now. 
How can I make sure all my hard work isn't just gone? Can I connect the photos on DigiKam with the exact same photos just stored on other drive without starting from scratch? I'm so mad at myself. 
If there is a way to fix this, clear, step-by-step instructions are requested as I have no idea how to reply. I've never used a mailing list before.  
Thank you in advance,Lindsay