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At a party marking her 2014 retirement, Barbara Walters didn't sound like she was going away anytime soon. "I've had the most amazing career,” she told a roomful of friends and ABC colleagues in NYC. "But...but...who knows what the future brings?" Sadly, it seems the present has brought health problems for Barbara, 88, and she’s no longer able to get around the way she used to. "She’s struggling — her walking is difficult because of her hips, and she doesn’t have the strength she did," an insider tells Closer of her health update. "As she tells her friends, ‘It’s the most challenging time of my life.'" (Barbara’s publicist denies the star has health issues.) Of course, Barbara overcame many other obstacles in the past. "She’s most proud of the fact she was a trailblazer for women in the workplace," the insider says of the former Today and ABC News anchor and creator co-host of The View. "She went where no woman went before in journalism and TV." twitter.com Some of the female reporters who followed in her path, like Lesley Stahl and Cynthia McFadden, visit Barbara at her NYC apartment, where she has full-time assistance. Barbara also spends time with daughter Jackie Danforth, 49, who has battled substance-abuse issues. "They’ve had a tough road," notes the insider. "But as Barbara says, 'We both grew up and forgave each other,' so that relationship, often estranged in the past, is a source of comfort now." She still watches The View. Reveals the insider, "She rolls her eyes at some of the ladies' comments." Sounds like the Barbara we all know and love! News legend Barbara Walters missed her close friend Liz Smith’s memorial service on February 2nd, RadarOnline.com can exclusively report. Closer Weekly While friends remembered the renowned gossip columnist, who died in November at 94, the 88-year-old Walters was not in attendance at New York’s Majestic Theatre this afternoon (February 2). “Barbara was too sick to attend. She hasn’t left her apartment in months,” an insider told Radar. “She’s not doing well and friends fear it will not be long before arrangements will need to be made to say goodbye to Barbara.” “Liz and Barbara were very close. The fact that Barbara didn’t attend was very telling. Barbara wouldn’t have missed together for the world if she were well enough!” Getty Images - Barbara Walters and Liz Smith entertain ANPA members As Radar previously reported, Walters is confined to a wheelchair in her New York apartment, and sources claimed she secretly suffered a broken hip. She hasn’t been spotted in public since mid-2016. “No one is allowed access to her apartment,” a frustrated pal told Radar. “Friends have been trying to see Barbara since the summer, but the doormen keep turning everyone away.” Radar Online The View founder simply doesn’t want fans to see her in distress, the source insisted. “There was also lots of photographers outside the memorial, and Barbara does not want to be photographed in a wheelchair,” the source claimed. “She wants to be remembered for who she was.” A rep for Walters has not yet responded to Radar’s request for comment. Our thoughts and continued prayers go out to Barbara Walters for a full and speedy recovery. (Credits: closerweekly and RadarOnline)