How do I recover notes lost due to switching my associated email account on the iPad?

I'm using the original iPad (software version is 5.1.1) and was trying to email a note to a friend. Here is what happened:

1. The email containing my note did not go thru so I went into the email app. I discovered that my email was not connected properly so I went into settings and tried to re-enter the password for my gmail account. I still could not log in.

2. Then I went to gmail on my computer and noticed that there was suspicious activity on my account so gmail forced me to reset my password. Done.

3. Back to my iPad. Logged into my email with the correct password and it still would not work.

4. Decided to change the gmail account associated. Logged in properly this time. Went into Notes and my notes disappeared in front of my eyes and switched to the Notes that I have on my iPhone (which are different). At this point I realized that Apple has some stupid setting that links notes to an email account.

5. Next, I tried to recover my old notes from the original gmail account. Logged in again and this time it worked (I think it took some time for the iPad to retrieve my newly updated gmail password). Notes still did not appear.

6. Back to settings. Selected the Gmail account, turned off notes, and turned them back on. Still no notes.

7. Back to my computer. Noticed there is a Notes folder automatically created on the email account. The note I wanted was the only one not in that folder. Thanks Apple.

Please help!!!