Thanks for your input fandv. I've checked out the people who got PR in 6 months and they all have very very solid relationship background, even more so than me. The sponsor actually lived with the applicant in her home country for 2-3 years, they travelled many countries together, countries that are extremely difficult for regular Vietnamese citizens to enter. But the typical applicant I've seen, ones with no interview or major issues, they all seem to take 11-12 months to get PR.
As for the re-med, I think I will email CIC about this and ask if I can do that.