thank you for having the courage to share with us your fears, financial concerns, your disability, and about max, your friend. i know you must miss him a lot. good friends are so very special.
there is a state run agency called vocational rehabilitation that is 80% federally funded. (in the white pages look up your state name in the phone book for how to contact them) their primary purpose is testing, training, and helping people with disabilities aquire a skill that will provide them with gainful employment to enable them to be as independent as possible. they also provide counseling and are trained in how to communicate with you, so no worries there. they also network to help you with job interviews within the range of your abilities. i strongly encourage you to contact them. you seem highly motivated and i applaud you. their funding begins at the beginning of each fiscal year..jan. 2009, in this case. at that time they will be given their financial budget for the year so money is more plentiful in the first half of any year.
the greatest tribute to your friend max, who gave you hope, is to live your life to the fullest you can. he would be here cheering you on if he could. so each step towards success that you make is like celebrating his life and how inspiring he was to you.
let us know how things work out for you!! i wish you well.