[matthew]

That's definitely not a 'happy chance' -- I'm sorry to hear about your bad luck.

If/when your electronics get wet, there's still hope. Open everything that will open, REMOVE the battery and any other power source, and take out the memory card and generally disassemble it as much as possible. Let it dry for at least a week before you try reconnecting power. It's not just water that's damaging, the combination of water and electricity is deadly to electronics. It accelerates corrosion and causes short-circuits. If the camera has had a couple of weeks to dry and still isn't working, it's time to go shopping.

I soaked my Sony F828 shortly after I got it. It was wrapped in a plastic bag, tucked in the bottom of the backpack I was wearing. After an hour of heavy rain, it was completely dead. It actually took ten days before moisture wasn't visible in the viewfinder.

After that experience, I bought a drybag to store my camera in when I was out with a chance of rain, and weatherproofing was a must-have when I went camera shopping again. (See my avatar for details.) Canon makes some great cameras, but Pentax and Olympus make some great waterproof cameras.