Problems reading/using microsd card

Hi-
I purchased a 32GB Kingston microsd card and used it for a few months in my Galaxy S3. For a while it worked fine, meaning on my phone I could access pictures saved to the card, and I could take out the card and put it in its mother unit, put that into my computer and copy pictures to my computer.
A few weeks ago the problem started. First, I would take a picture from my phone. When I click on the gallery in my Galaxy S3 the thumbnail gallery would show and I could see that my picture was recorded, but the phone was unable to present the full picture (meaning, I could touch any thumbnail and the system stalled, finally closing the app.
So, I took the flashcard and put it in my computer and the computer wouldn't even recognize the E: drive (it is the correct drive -- I tested it with another microsd card.) I have tried, from the command prompt, chkdsk and attrib with various parameters and the system reports that I have to insert a disk into the E: drive (when it is already inserted.)
Now I put the card back in my phone and my phone doesn't see it.
I am wondering if there is a way for me to retrieve what is on the card. I figure I won't/can't use it again, but I sure would like the pics I took since the last time I backed it up.
I tried Mini Tool Data Recovery and it, too, couldn't see the E: drive.
I know I can send the card to a data recovery specialist, but I'm not sure it's worth the $$ for the pics.
By the way, I am not sure if this is the correct forum for this issue, so if my question is in the wrong forum, please advise.
My guesses are that by pulling it out without dismounting I may have caused internal damage or I mixed FATs.
Any ideas on solutions to my problem?
Thanks in advance.
John